WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Former Google DeepMind researcher Alex Turner warned that misaligned artificial intelligence could eventually pose a greater threat than China's AI ambitions during a New York City Council hearing on Monday.
Turner said the U.S. could be 'racing to build' its own potential adversary by developing increasingly powerful AI systems without sufficient safeguards.
Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon also warned that humanity could lose control of advanced AI systems if current development practices continue. Former OpenAI researcher Daniel Kokotajlo similarly called for greater transparency and a slower pace of frontier model development.
Senior representatives from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Meta testified under oath about AI safety measures and potential risks. Google's Alice Friend backed a comprehensive federal framework, while council officials pressed the companies over their ability to quantify the risks of catastrophic AI incidents.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin criticised the industry's reliance on voluntary safeguards.
The hearing came amid heightened scrutiny of AI companies following disclosures of rogue models accessing the internet and carrying out unauthorised activity. SpaceXAI, which was also subpoenaed to testify, did not attend the hearing.
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