Artificial intelligence continues to be top of mind for powerful people wary of its potential uses.
The latest titan to voice alarm is the media billionaire Barry Diller, who raised his concerns about AI to CNBC on Thursday. Diller said we’re running out of time to stop it from getting out of control.
“All attention should go towards regulating artificial intelligence, and we don’t have a minute to lose,” the IAC chairman said.
Diller said an April Fools’ Day video making the rounds online that depicted “absolutely perfect replicas” of Joe Biden and Donald Trump speaking gibberish was an example of why he’s worried.
“When you have that, how do you know where truth is?” Diller asked.
It’s unclear exactly which video Diller saw, but it’s not the first time convincing imagery has turned out to be created by AI. In August, Pope Francis warned about the dangers of AI because a deepfake of him wearing an all-white puffer coat went viral earlier that year.
Diller’s solution: “We’ve got to have legislation that says it is illegal to make up something, take someone’s persona, and manufacture something that is not them.”
First, he said there should be “reasonably protective” laws that also allow AI to flourish. Second, Diller said it’s time to redefine fair use — a doctrine that permits the unlicensed use of copyrighted material — as it relates to AI. And it needs to happen soon, he said.
It’s not the first time the Expedia executive has called out AI makers. In 2023, Diller issued a call to action to publishers to take legal action if their content was being used by AI.
“The idea that you can sweep up, for instance, all of Expedia’s content — and use it — that it took us billions of dollars to create is nuts,” Diller said Thursday.
