SAN FRANCISCO – In case you missed it, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer sat down with the San Francisco Examiner to dive deeper into his newly released AI Plan. In his conversation with the Examiner, Steyer warned of the potential threats AI poses to human safety, job security, and mental health. Steyer is the first gubernatorial candidate to offer a comprehensive AI policy plan.
The following are excerpts from the piece:
San Francisco Examiner | Steyer pushes harder line on AI limits
By Troy Wolverton
On the details of Steyer’s AI Plan:
“[The] climate activist told the Examiner he opposes the deployment of driverless big-rig trucks; believes humans need to be in the loop with automated systems that can make decisions involving such things as health or safety; and thinks AI systems should be tested before they are deployed, including for whether they might encourage suicide or self-harm.”
On driverless vehicles:
“‘We’re going to insist on safety… That focus on protecting people is why [I’m] opposed to driverless trucks,’ said Steyer. Such vehicles might save companies money, he said. But the technology is ‘very far’ from being ready to be deployed safely, and it would be ‘reckless’ to allow that to happen, he said. ‘I would demand real safety standards long before I would consider that.”’
On AI displacing or replacing workers:
“Steyer proposes taxing AI companies to create a fund that would be used for things such as education and retraining and making investments that would be broadly beneficial to state residents.”
On AI affecting mental health and maintaining human influence on creating AI systems:
“One general rule Steyer said he supports is that humans should oversee automated systems, particularly those that could affect safety, health or ‘fairness… ’ It’s going to be really important that we make sure that … there is that human touch in places where there’s dramatic human impact,’ Steyer said.. [H]e said he support[s] requiring AI developers to safety test their systems including for whether they would encourage self-harm or suicide.”
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