IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told attendees at the 2024 World Economic Forum’s annual meeting that companies and nations who embrace artificial intelligence (AI) “are going to be advantaged forever.” For those who don’t embrace AI, Krishna warned, “you’re going to find that you may not have a job.”
The Indian-American technology executive took over as CEO of IBM in 2020 and was named chairman in January 2021. “Artificial intelligence, today’s form, is going to generate $4 trillion of annual productivity before the end of the decade,” Krishna said. Despite evidence to the contrary — and his own warning — he insisted that the increase in productivity would not be in the form of “job displacement.”
U.S. policy regarding AI is increasingly a concern to voters and government officials alike. Former President Donald Trump warned recently that the technology could be “very dangerous for our country” in a post on Truth Social. He pointed to the use of fake — but incredibly realistic — images generated by AI tools which could be used to influence U.S. elections.
AI’s military and commercial applications also pose a potential existential threat to U.S. interests. The National Pulse reported that the Pentagon supplied Song-Chun Zhu — an AI specialist who works with the Chinese Communist Party – with $30 million in federal grants. Zhu described the AI technology race as the “equivalent to [developing] the ‘atomic bomb’ in the information technology field.”
Former President Barack Obama has overseen AI policy in the Biden government. The former President met with Big Tech and West Wing officials over Zoom on behalf of the 80-year-old incumbent as he was piecing together an executive order on AI. The order lays the groundwork for federal oversight and funding for the technology and a slew of government hirings related to it.
show less"You're going to find that you may not have a job" IBM CEO Arvind Krishna on those who do not embrace A.I., during 2024 World Economic Forum panel.
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