Creator of the first widely used web browser, Mosaic, Marc Andreessen once again threw a sly jab at the Elon Musk-led AI camp, raising eyebrows with this not-so-cryptic remarks about the unfolding events in the heart of Washington D.C.
What Happened: Earlier this week, Andreessen appeared on a podcast show hosted by Aarthi Ramamurthy and Sriram Krishnan during which he touched upon various highly sought-after questions like "Why AI will save the world" and "Parallels between AI and Nuclear Weapons."
See Also: President Biden Praises AI’s ‘Enormous Promise’ — But US Regulations Need A Software Update
During the podcast, Andreessen voiced his concerns about ongoing efforts in Washington, D.C. to regulate AI developments. The Mosiac creator highlighted what he perceives as a concerted attempt to solidify the dominance of a few major players and stifle the innovation of startups and open-source initiatives.
Andreessen referred to this regulatory push as a coalition of “Baptists” and “Bootleggers.” The “Baptists” likely represent individuals and organizations advocating for AI regulation based on ethical and moral concerns, while the “Bootleggers” might be a reference to powerful players in the AI industry who would benefit from regulations that create barriers to entry for newcomers.
According to Andreessen, these regulations could effectively entrench the current industry giants and hinder the progress of emerging startups and open-source projects.
"I just think that the behavior [and] the conduct of what’s happening on the ground in D.C. right now is really improper … they’re really listening to people and they’re really taking people at face value and I really think that they shouldn't," he stated.
Watch the complete podcast here:
Why It's Important: Earlier this month, chatGPT-parent OpenAI's co-founder and CEO Sam Altman made similar comments stating that their stance since the beginning has been extremely clear. "We have explicitly said there should be no regulation on smaller companies. The only regulation we have called for is on ourselves and people bigger."
Altman and Andreessen's sentiments are widely different from the likes of Musk, who has time and again preached for stricter AI regulations – although his actions were called less well-intentioned by many friends and foes including Reid Hoffman because the tech billionaire is currently gearing up to launch an AI system that seeks maximum truth i.e. "TruthGPT."
Musk was also among the more than 1000+ tech experts who signed an "open letter" asking to pause AI trials "more powerful" than OpenAI's GPT-4.
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