Date: 2025-10-04 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00025845
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF AI
Congressional Hearing on Artificial Intelligence
Testimony of Dr. Fei-Fei Li from Stanford University on June 26th 2019
Congressional Hearing on Artificial Intelligence
Testimony of Dr. Fei-Fei Li from Stanford University on June 26th 2019
Dr.Fei-Fei Li testimony: https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4855571/user-clip-fei-fei-litestimony-congress
Complete Hearing: https://www.c-span.org/video/?447599-1/artificial-intelligence
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
Peter Burgess
Congressional Hearing
JUNE 26, 2018 Two subcommittees of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee held a joint hearing to consider the applications and implications of artificial intelligence technology, or “AI.” Witnesses talked about the benefits of AI to U.S. society and beyond, and also addressed members' concerns about the potential nefarious applications of artificial intelligence
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THANK YOU. WE NOW RECOGNIZE DR. LI.
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THANK YOU FOR THE INVITATION, CONGRESSWOMAN AND CONGRESSMAN.
MY NAME IS FAY-FAY LI.
I'M HERE AS CHAIRWOMAN OF A NATIONAL AI RESEARCH TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT HAVE BEEN TRADITIONALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE FIELD -- IN THE STEM FIELDS, SUCH AS GIRLS, PEOPLE OF COLOR AND MEMBERS OF LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES.
OUR PROGRAM BEGAN AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY IN 2015. THIS YEAR, AI FOR ALL ARE EXPANDED ACROSS NORTH AMERICA TO SIX UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES.
I OFTEN LIKE TO SHARE WITH MY STUDENTS THAT THERE'S NOTHING ARTIFICIAL ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. IT'S INSPIRED BY PEOPLE. IT'S CREATED BY PEOPLE. AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT HAS AN IMPACT ON PEOPLE.
IT'S A POWERFUL TOOL WE'RE ONLY JUST BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND. AND THAT'S A PROFOUND RESPONSIBILITY. I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE THE TIME HAS COME TO HAVE AN INFORMED PUBLIC CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT RESPONSIBILITY.
WITH PROPER GUIDANCE, AI WILL MAKE LIFE BETTER. BUT WITHOUT IT, IT STANDS TO WIDEN THE WEALTH DIVIDE EVEN FURTHER, MAKE TECHNOLOGY EVEN MORE EXCLUSIVE AND FORCED BUY AS WE HAVE SPENT GENERATIONS TRYING TO OVERCOME.
THIS WILL BE AN ETHICAL, PHILOSOPHICAL AND HUMANISTIC CHALLENGE. AND IT WILL REQUIRE A DIVERSE COMMUNITY OF CONTRIBUTORS. IT'S AN APPROACH I CALL HUMAN CENTERED AI. AND IT'S MADE UP OF THREE PILLARS THAT I BELIEVE WILL HELP ENSURE AI PLAYS A POSITIVE ROLE IN THE WORLD.
THE FIRST IS THAT THE NEXT GENERATION MAY REFLECT MORE OF THE QUALITIES THAT MAKE US HUMAN, SUCH AS DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONTEXT WE RELY ON TO MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD. PROGRESS ON THIS FRONT WILL MAKE AI MUCH BETTER IN UNDERSTANDING OUR NEEDS BUT WILL REQUIRE A DEEPER RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AI AND FIELDS LIKE NEUROSCIENCE, COGNITIVE SCIENCE AND THE BEHAVIOR SCIENCES.
THE SECOND IS THAT EMPHASIS ON ENHANCING AUGMENTING HUMAN SKILLS, NOT REPLACING THEM. MACHINES ARE UNLIKELY TO REPLACE NURSES AND DOCTORS, FOR EXAMPLE, BUT LEARNING AND ASSIST IN DIAGNOSIS WILL HELP THEIR JOB TREMENDOUSLY. SIMILAR OPPORTUNITIES TO AUGMENT HUMAN CAPABILITY AS BOUND FROM HEALTH CARE TO EDUCATION, FROM MANUFACTURING TO AGRICULTURE.
FINALLY, AI MUST BE GUIDED BY A CONCERN FOR ITS IMPACT. WE MUST ADDRESS CHALLENGES OF MACHINE BUY AS, SECURITY AS WELL AS AT THE SOCIETY LEVEL NOW IS THE TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE EFFECT OF AI ON LAWS, ETHICS AND EVEN CULTURE. TO PUT THESE IDEAS IN PRACTICE, GOVERNMENTS, ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY WILL HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER.
THIS WILL REQUIRE BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF AI IN ALL THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT. AI IS SIMPLY TOO IMPORTANT TO BE OWNED BY PRIVATE INTERESTS ALONE AND PUBLICLY FUNDED RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CAN PROVIDE A MORE TRANSPARENT FOUNDATION FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT.
NEXT, ACADEMIA HAS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO ELEVATE OUR UNDERSTANDING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THIS TECHNOLOGY. UNIVERSITIES ARE A PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDYING ITS EFFECT ON OUR WORLD AS WELL AS SUPPORTING CROSS DISCIPLINARY, NEXT GENERATION AI RESEARCH.
FINALLY, BUSINESSES MUST DEVELOP A BETTER BALANCE BETWEEN THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO SHAREHOLDERS AND THEIR OBLIGATIONS TO THEIR USERS. COMMERCIAL AI PRODUCTS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CHANGE THE WORLD RAPIDLY AND THE TIME HAS COME TO COMPLIMENT THIS AMBITION WITH ETHICAL SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS POLICIES.
HUMAN CENTER AI MEANS KEEPING HUMANS AT THE HEART OF THIS TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT.
UNFORTUNATELY, LACK OF DIVERSE RECOMMENDATION REMAINS A CRISIS IN AI.
WOMEN HOLD A FRACTION OF HIGH-TECH POSITIONS AND EVEN FEWER AT THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL. AND THIS IS EVEN WORSE FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR. WE HAVE GOOD REASONS TO WORRY ABOUT BIAS IN OUR ALGORITHMS.
A LACK OF DIVERSITY WILL BE AMONG ITS PRIMARY CAUSES. ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES COMES FROM TECHNOLOGY WHO SAYS THAT THERE IS NO INDEPENDENT MACHINE VALUES. MACHINE VALUES ARE HUMAN VALUES. HOWEVER, AUTONOMOUS IT BECOMES, ITS IMPACT ON THE WORLD WILL ALWAYS BE OUR RESPONSIBILITY.
WITH A HUMAN CENTERED APPROACH WE CAN MAKE SURE IT'S AN IMPACT WE'LL BE PROUD OF.
THANK YOU.