Vint Cerf warns businesses not to rush into AI investments

San Francisco, Feb 15 - Vint Cerf, the "Father of the internet" and a Google "internet evangelist," has issued a warning to businesses against investing in conversational AI technologies solely because they are trendy. Cerf cautioned that there are ethical issues that need to be considered before rushing into these investments, particularly because the technology does not always work the way we would like it to. His warning follows the recent surge in popularity for conversational AI, particularly for ChatGPT.

Major tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Meta are currently struggling to stay competitive in the conversational AI space while simultaneously trying to improve a technology that still makes mistakes. Cerf warned against the temptation to invest in AI technology solely because it is "really cool," even though it does not always work correctly.

He also emphasized the importance of being thoughtful when considering investments in these technologies, saying that people will always try to seek benefits for themselves, rather than for the greater good. He highlighted an example in which he asked a chatbot to provide a biography about himself, and the bot presented its response as factual, despite inaccuracies.

Cerf suggested that engineers should be responsible for trying to find ways to tame AI technologies to reduce the likelihood of causing harm. As such, businesses and investors must consider the ethical implications of AI and take a cautious approach when making investments in the technology.

(with input from agency)