US President Joe Biden watched the newest Mission: Impossible movie and became even more worried about artificial intelligence. White House chief of staff Bruce Reed told the Associated Press that he watched Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One with Biden at Camp David, and the commander-in-chief's concerns about the potential negative effects of AI grew. This happened prior to Biden's recent announcement of an executive order pertaining to AI usage in America.
"If he hadn't already been concerned about what could go wrong with AI before that movie, he saw plenty more to worry about," Reed said.
The movie's villain is an AI that comes to life called the Entity. It's a formidable foe in the film, even killing several by sinking a submarine early in the movie's runtime. Reed said Biden has been "as impressed and alarmed as anyone" by AI.
"He saw fake AI images of himself, of his dog. He saw how it can make bad poetry. And he's seen and heard the incredible and terrifying technology of voice cloning, which can take three seconds of your voice and turn it into an entire fake conversation," Reed said.
Biden said he sees great potential for AI as well as potential negatives, which is why he signed an executive order to "govern this technology."
Under the order, AI developers are required to share information with the government pertaining to safety test results. Additionally, the National Institute of Standards and Technology will create its own set of standards in an effort to safeguard against any potential perils. What's more, the Commerce Department of the US is being asked to label and watermark content to designate it was made using AI.
Sam Altman, the founder and CEO of ChatGPT company OpenAI, has warned that AI could kill us all and has called for government regulation of AI. Elon Musk, who helped to create OpenAI, has urged caution in the space and has advised a six-month pause on AI development in some areas due to "profound risks to society and humanity." There are concerns that AI could replace jobs, lead to even greater media misinformation thanks to AI-generated images and video, and countless other potential pitfalls that have led many to call for regulation.
In Hollywood, one of the key issues in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes was and continues to be the use of AI.
But many companies also see great potential to use AI to make lots of money, including Microsoft. The company recently paid OpenAI a reported $10 billion to work with the company to bolster its own AI objectives, which includes putting AI into every product it makes, including Xbox.
Today’s executive order is another critical step forward in the governance of AI technology. This order builds on the White House Voluntary Commitments for safe, secure, and trustworthy AI and complements international efforts through the G7 Hiroshima Process. AI promises to…
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) October 30, 2023
Microsoft president Brad Smith said Biden's executive order on AI is "another critical step forward in the governance of AI technology." You can read the full terms of Biden's executive order on AI on the White House website.
As for the Mission: Impossible series, Dead Reckoning Part Two has been delayed to 2025 and will have a new title when it comes out.