If the World Economic Forum in Davos was any indication, AI safety and security will be this year’s top priority for AI developers and enterprises alike. But first, we must overcome hype-driven distractions that siphon attention, research, and investment away from today’s most pressing AI challenges.
AI is not unlike the once-new and exciting technologies that came before it. The ebbs and flows of the technology ecosystem have seen countless innovations — think cloud computing, blockchain, and Web3 – cause hysteria. The fates of these technologies are often sealed by the reactions, decisions, and investments made before, during, and after the hype. Cloud computing was once a written-off alternative to legacy on-premise systems; today it stands as the most foundational piece to the enterprise infrastructure stack despite the many scale, safety, and security challenges it presented.
We do not know what challenges AI has in store; even the pioneers of AI are left pondering what the future holds. But we cannot dread a possible eventuality while we continue to build towards it. Instead of letting the unknown drive us toward disillusionment and distrust, we should investigate the AI systems of today; building, refining, and securing new solutions and architectures that will support stronger and safer AI today and tomorrow.