Axios Event: "AI is here to stay" and it can make lives better if handled right, Sen. Rounds says

AUSTIN, Texas – AI is part of the way of doing things now, so the goal must be to manage its risks and take full advantage of its benefits, experts said at a March 9 event at Axios House SXSW.

Why it matters: Artificial intelligence's promise of improving people's quality of life is seen in its potential to transform industries like defense and health care. However, it must overcome the fact that even as more Americans now use the technology daily, many report disliking it.

Axios' Alison Snyder and Erica Pandey spoke with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.); Sarah Bird, Microsoft's chief product officer of responsible AI; and Helen Toner, director of strategy and foundational research grants at Georgetown's University Center for Security and Emerging Technology at the event, sponsored by Future of Life Institute.

What they're saying: "AI is here to stay. It's not going away. Our job is to appropriately manage it and take advantage of the opportunities that it provides," Rounds said.

The rapid advancement of AI has been met with fear and optimism from policymakers and the public grappling with its uncertain effects.

• "AI is changing so quickly and we see new risks emerging, but we're also seeing new breakthroughs," Bird said.
• "One of the things that's been really great about AI … is that it's actually incredibly powerful for defense," Bird said. "For example, we use AI to test our AI systems. We have it role-play a user and try to attack the system, and this allows us to do testing at scale. That was never something we could do before."

AI's redefining applications are especially promising in health care, with many excited about how it can speed up research for life-changing treatments and diagnose diseases.

• "[W]ith the right types of investments, we literally have the ability using artificial intelligence as an accelerator to do some spectacular biomedical research, and in fact to the point where if done correctly, we could probably cure cancer in the next five years," Rounds said.
• "For people [who] are wondering why this is so important, it's not just because of the defense of our country. It is because of the quality of life if we do this correctly that we can provide, not just for American citizens, but other people in the world as well."

When talk turns to AI's effects, two extreme scenarios oftentimes are cited – rapid chaos and upheaval or minimal change. However, Toner said, neither is the most likely outcome.

• "I think in reality, if you think about it … most likely it'll be something in the middle. And by something in the middle … I mean very, very radical change, but over the period of five, 10, 15 years, and in that case, there's a lot we can do," Toner said.

The bottom line: Discussions about AI that focus on extreme outcomes, both positive and negative, can overwhelm people and give them a sense of lack of control. Striking a balance between managing risk and embracing the benefits of AI is the sweet spot that experts hope to reach.

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In a View From the Top conversation, Future of Life Institute co-founder and executive director Anthony Aguirre said that humans have a choice: use AI tools to extend their capabilities or build advanced artificial general intelligence that "makes us replaceable."

• "Now where we are turning is toward autonomous systems, systems that can make their own plans, they can follow complex sets of actions toward goals, they can have their own goals," Aguirre said.
• "All of the things that we've built in history as technologies, almost all of them, have been tools. They've been things that we've designed to extend our capability, to empower us to do the things that we want to do. I think the real difference … is that AGI – and after it, superintelligence – is not a tool. It is a competitor."