Leonardo SpA CEO Roberto Cingolani during an interview in London, England, Tuesday, January 23, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Leonardo, the chief executive of Italy's defense group, said on Friday that he was more concerned about the “stupidity” of users of artificial intelligence than the threat posed by artificial intelligence itself.
His comments come amid repeated warnings about the dangers of AI, with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently calling on international political and business leaders to develop a global strategy to deal with AI technologies. He called for giving priority to
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 17, Guterres said the rapid development of AI could have “serious unintended consequences.”
“Honestly, what I'm more concerned about is that even after 2000 years, “It's a lack of control on the part of the people who are waging wars.”
“With this in mind, artificial intelligence is a tool. It's an algorithm created by humans, run by computers created by humans, to control machines created by humans. “I'm here” [about] To be honest, it's more about national stupidity than artificial intelligence,” he added.
“I have a scientific background, so I think technology is neutral. It's the user that's the problem, not the technology itself.”
AI proponents say the technology can be leveraged to benefit humanity in a variety of ways, including faster tracking of patient diagnoses, helping model climate change and combating cyberattacks. ing.
However, the International Monetary Fund said in a report released on January 14 that nearly 40% of jobs around the world could be affected by the rise of AI.
The Washington, D.C.-based agency also warned that the technology's potential impact on global labor markets is likely to exacerbate overall inequality in most cases.
Cingolani said defense companies like Leonardo must make “huge efforts” to introduce “massive digitization” of their platforms, including the provision of autonomous systems and services powered by AI. Ta.
“This is a complete paradigm shift. It's a different technological approach to defense and security. This is a big technological challenge,” he added.
Leonardo's shares were up more than 4% at around 8:48 a.m. London time on Friday. The Milan-listed stock has risen more than 37% since the beginning of the year.