Salesforce CEO warns against an AI 'Hiroshima'

• At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff cautioned that the technology sector is taking measures to ensure the safe development of artificial intelligence to prevent a "Hiroshima moment."
• The reliability, applications, and potential biases of AI have sparked concerns globally, prompting critics to question whether the technology will replace human workers.
• This week at Davos, several prominent tech figures have made assertive statements regarding artificial intelligence.

To prevent a catastrophic event like the "Hiroshima moment," the tech industry is establishing safety protocols and trust principles for AI software, as CEO Marc Benioff stated in a World Economic Forum panel in Davos, Switzerland.

The advancement of AI in the past year or two represents a significant milestone, but it also poses a risk of going wrong, as acknowledged by the speaker on Thursday.

Benioff stated that the reason for the safety summit and the emphasis on trust is to prevent a catastrophic event from occurring. He referenced a U.K. event that took place last year.

We must prevent an AI Hiroshima. We have witnessed technology's potential for destruction and have experienced the devastation of Hiroshima. We must ensure that we understand the implications of AI now.

The reliability, applications, and potential biases of AI have sparked concerns, with critics worldwide questioning whether the technology will replace human workers. This week, the International Monetary Fund published a report stating that almost 40% of jobs worldwide could be affected by the growth of AI.

The New York Times sued Microsoft and OpenAI in December, alleging copyright infringement and accusing the companies of using their large language models to train on the newspaper's content.

After introducing its own generative AI software Einstein GPT and joining the global race among software developers to integrate generative AI capabilities into their products, Salesforce now has a stake in the game.

In November, the company with its largest unit focused on customer support reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that surpassed analyst predictions, with a 11% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Artificial intelligence that generates new content, designs, and ideas based on user prompts is called generative AI. It is trained on large datasets from the internet. ChatGPT from OpenAI is trained up to 2021.

Numerous businesses have been utilizing AI technology for various purposes, including art, marketing, copyright, and more. However, the use of AI has raised concerns about cybersecurity, as it enables criminals to develop and deploy malicious software.

In 2019, at a crucial conference in Bletchley Park, England, global leaders pledged to establish guidelines and principles for the responsible development of AI.

This week, several prominent technology leaders, including Sam Altman of OpenAI and Pat Gelsinger of Intel, have shared their views on the advancement of AI.

At Davos on Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that he believes AGI, a type of AI that is on par with or more advanced than humans, will likely arrive soon, but it won't be as terrifying as many economists predict.

This tool is much more than I anticipated, and while it will improve, it's not yet replacing jobs. It's an incredible tool for productivity that enhances human capabilities and allows AI to handle certain tasks.