The Campaign for AI Safety (CAS) has submitted its recommendations to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as part of the consultation on creating a regulatory sandbox for telecom companies. CAS emphasizes that safety should be the top priority when testing cutting-edge AI technology, highlighting concerns such as the black box problem and AI systems’ potential to lose control or unknowingly break laws.
The regulatory sandbox proposal aims to provide a controlled environment for telecom companies to innovate and test new products and services. However, CAS believes that the framework needs to explicitly address the issue of demonstrating safe testing of new technologies. Without proper safety protocols, the consequences could be devastating and can lead to violations of individual rights and laws.
One significant aspect that CAS raises in its submission is the need for funding and resources for the proposed framework. CAS worries that without adequate resourcing, regulators may be influenced and reliant on companies with greater technical knowledge, potentially compromising the sandbox’s integrity. The organization also expresses concerns about close collaboration with the AI industry, warning that private interests should not overshadow the broader public interest.
To ensure the safe development of AI, CAS recommends preventing the advancement of powerful AI until it is proven safe. It suggests that regulators should research safety standards and protocols before allowing further development and empower regulators to enforce compliance and penalize non-compliance with substantial penalties. CAS also proposes monitoring the computational resources used by companies and imposing reporting requirements to prohibit the development of potentially unsafe AI.
CAS also suggests imposing safety conditions on AI labs, mirroring requirements found in industries like financial services and healthcare. This approach includes allocating funds for alignment, reliability, and explainability research, establishing internal and external safety evaluation teams, and mandating safety committees and pre-deployment safety evaluations.
Further recommendations from CAS include mandating the disclosure of training data, model characteristics, and evaluation results to build public trust in AI development. Additionally, CAS proposes redirecting public funding towards AI safety protocols and techniques, specifically focusing on AI verification, validation, and mitigating catastrophic failures.
Through these recommendations, CAS advocates for a comprehensive approach to ensure the safe and responsible development of AI, calling for proactive measures to address potential risks and establish trust between regulators, companies, and the public.