Promise and peril: Report warns of generative artificial intelligence potential

WASHINGTON — Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform so much of society. It can create content like text and video with a user prompt using massive data sets on the internet.

A new watchdog report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the technology is being used in health care, education, software engineering and more. But it’s also highlighting the potential risks.

The report said generative AI “may also displace workers, spread disinformation, and present risks to national security and the environment.” It can also create privacy issues for health and other personal data.

“There’s a lot of promise but also a lot of peril,” said Kevin Walsh, a Director in GAO’s Information Technology and Cybersecurity team. “For example, the same technology that is used for medical imaging to help identify and isolate potentially cancerous cells can also be used to generate potentially dangerous organisms.”

The report also highlights how popular the technology has become and its benefits.

“In business, generative AI has the potential to assist with travel arrangements, analyze accounting data, and help manage investments,” the report said. “Generative AI also has potential applications in education, such as personalized learning, language learning, and automated administrative tasks.”

“When we think about where is AI headed right now, I think what we’re looking at is it’s looking to enhance productivity, improve the customer experience and even create lifesaving breakthroughs. That’s really what it’s about at this stage,” said Brian Comiskey, Senior Director of Innovation and Trends at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

Comiskey said CTA and other advocacy groups are pushing for a national standard for tech companies when it comes to creating and using AI to better protect the public from potential harm.

“A national framework around AI and legislation really would help support creating these uniform guardrails and guidelines of how do we get it so that it’s going towards those positives and not really heading towards the negative direction,” said Comiskey.

Last year, big tech companies like Amazon, Google and Meta made a voluntary commitment to the White House to try to minimize the harms from AI.

“Generative AI at this point can be a very cool tool to assist and help you do your job, so I think become familiar with it, know how to use it but also just be aware that in this age of generative AI, maybe do some more double checking,” said Walsh.

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