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Demis Hassabis, the co-founder and CEO of Google’s DeepMind AI research lab, is calling for the creation of a U.S.-initiated AI watchdog group as the technology’s capabilities rapidly advance, along with untold global risks.
“What we collectively do now will determine how the next phase of civilisation unfolds,” Hassabis wrote in a Substack article published Tuesday.
Speaking to Axios, Hassabis said he has been working to gain support for such a group, including with world leaders and fellow AI researchers.
“The noises I’ve been hearing are very positive,” he told Axios.
In his article, Hassabis urges the creation of a “starting point” for what would become international standards. It would help prevent, fight and address cybersecurity issues, including nuclear and bio risks.
“On the horizon, we will need robust safeguards to maintain control of increasingly agentic, recursively self-improving systems – and tackle unknown issues that will only become clearer over time,” he wrote.
Separately, more than 200 economists and AI researchers signed a letter published Monday that urgently calls for enhanced research on AI’s economic impacts, and for work to ensure it “complements human capabilities and benefits society.”
The letter, “We Must Act Now: A Statement on AI’s Transformation of the Economy,” warns of the world being wholly unprepared for the radical economic transformations of AI.
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