Axios House: Equity is fundamental to AI's success, execs say

DAVOS, Switzerland — Widespread access to benefits and safety standards around AI is a collective responsibility, said industry leaders at a Jan. 21 Axios House event.

Why it matters: When the public feels the negative consequences but doesn't reap the rewards, "that will be an organ rejection when it comes to embracing the technology," TIAA president and CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett said.

Axios' Courtenay Brown and Ina Fried spoke with Brown Duckett, Google DeepMind co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis, IBM vice chairman Gary Cohn and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The conversation was sponsored by ServiceNow.

Zoom out: Concerns about equity apply not only to financial benefits but also to resources and community impact.

• "We're starting to see the issue of water. We're starting to see the issue of electricity prices. These are real fundamental issues," Cohn told Brown.
• "We need to get our act together quickly on things like international cooperation, at least some kind of minimal safety standards," Hassabis said.

Zoom in: Preventing AI-exacerbated inequality "starts within your own company," Brown Duckett told Brown.

• "Are you taking a look at your wages? Are they competitive? Are you still recruiting on campuses?"

• "We have to make sure: How will everyone be able to have an opportunity to benefit?"

The bottom line: "There's a bigger picture at stake of safety overall and stewarding AGI safely into the world for the benefit of everyone," Hassabis said.

Content from the sponsor's segment:

In a View from The Top conversation, ServiceNow.org president and ServiceNow chief corporate affairs officer Vanessa Smith warned that failing to address inequality early risks repeating past mistakes: "History tells us what happens when those divides widen."

Go deeper: Watch the full interviews on YouTube.