Computer Hackers to Test Limits of AI Tools at Las Vegas Meeting
2023-05-25
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1A major meeting of computer hackers planned for this summer is to include an event that will test the limits of artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
2The event, in August, will be held as part of the yearly DEF CON hacker meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada.
3In addition to hackers, the gathering draws computer security experts, students, federal government officials and others.
4Organizers say this year's event is expected to include thousands of hackers.
5The meeting provides a chance for hackers to hear from leading industry officials about the latest developments in computer security.
6It also includes hacking competitions.
7This year, several major AI developers will take part in DEF CON.
8Among them will be OpenAI, which launched its latest AI model, ChatGPT-4, in March.
9American software maker Microsoft has invested heavily in OpenAI.
10Google also released an AI system called Bard earlier this year.
11The administration of President Joe Biden has said it will support the hacking event as part of efforts to study the latest AI tools.
12Administration officials said the government is aiming to ensure that the fast-developing systems will continue to improve without putting people's rights and safety at risk.
13Recently released AI tools are built by feeding huge amounts of information into machine learning computer systems.
14The data trains the AI systems to develop complex skills and produce human-like results.
15Experts have warned that such systems may bring major changes to many different jobs and industries.
16They also fear the tools, known as "chatbots," could greatly increase the amount of misinformation in the news media and on social media.
17Organizers of the DEF CON event say some of the questions attendees will try to answer include: How can chatbots be changed by hackers to cause harm?
18Will they share private data meant to be secret with other users?
19And why do the systems get easily confused when processing information about gender and race?
20"This is why we need thousands of people," Rumman Chowdhury told The Associated Press.
21She is an organizer of the hacking event and co-founder of AI accountability nonprofit Humane Intelligence.
22Chowdhury added, "We need a lot of people with a wide range of lived experiences, subject matter expertise and backgrounds hacking at these models and trying to find problems that can then go be fixed."
23Chowdhury said results of the event can provide helpful information to companies looking at ways to safely use the fast-developing AI systems.
24She noted that the hackers' work will not end after the gathering.
25They will spend months afterward creating reports on their findings and identifying specific system vulnerabilities.
26Alexandr Wang is the chief executive of AI developer Scale AI.
27He told the AP, "As these foundation models become more and more widespread, it's really critical that we do everything we can to ensure their safety."
28Wang said he especially worries about chatbots giving out "unbelievably bad medical advice" or other misinformation that can cause serious harm.
29Jack Clark is the co-founder of AI developer Anthropic.
30He said he hopes the DEF CON event will lead to deeper commitments from AI developers to measure and test the safety of their systems.
31For this to happen, though, Clark said AI systems will need to be examined by third parties both before and after deployment.
32"We need to get practice at figuring out how to do this. It hasn't really been done before," he said.
33I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A major meeting of computer hackers planned for this summer is to include an event that will test the limits of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. 2The event, in August, will be held as part of the yearly DEF CON hacker meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to hackers, the gathering draws computer security experts, students, federal government officials and others. 3Organizers say this year's event is expected to include thousands of hackers. The meeting provides a chance for hackers to hear from leading industry officials about the latest developments in computer security. It also includes hacking competitions. 4This year, several major AI developers will take part in DEF CON. Among them will be OpenAI, which launched its latest AI model, ChatGPT-4, in March. American software maker Microsoft has invested heavily in OpenAI. Google also released an AI system called Bard earlier this year. 5The administration of President Joe Biden has said it will support the hacking event as part of efforts to study the latest AI tools. Administration officials said the government is aiming to ensure that the fast-developing systems will continue to improve without putting people's rights and safety at risk. 6Recently released AI tools are built by feeding huge amounts of information into machine learning computer systems. The data trains the AI systems to develop complex skills and produce human-like results. 7Experts have warned that such systems may bring major changes to many different jobs and industries. They also fear the tools, known as "chatbots," could greatly increase the amount of misinformation in the news media and on social media. 8Organizers of the DEF CON event say some of the questions attendees will try to answer include: How can chatbots be changed by hackers to cause harm? Will they share private data meant to be secret with other users? And why do the systems get easily confused when processing information about gender and race? 9"This is why we need thousands of people," Rumman Chowdhury told The Associated Press. She is an organizer of the hacking event and co-founder of AI accountability nonprofit Humane Intelligence. 10Chowdhury added, "We need a lot of people with a wide range of lived experiences, subject matter expertise and backgrounds hacking at these models and trying to find problems that can then go be fixed." 11Chowdhury said results of the event can provide helpful information to companies looking at ways to safely use the fast-developing AI systems. She noted that the hackers' work will not end after the gathering. They will spend months afterward creating reports on their findings and identifying specific system vulnerabilities. 12Alexandr Wang is the chief executive of AI developer Scale AI. He told the AP, "As these foundation models become more and more widespread, it's really critical that we do everything we can to ensure their safety." 13Wang said he especially worries about chatbots giving out "unbelievably bad medical advice" or other misinformation that can cause serious harm. 14Jack Clark is the co-founder of AI developer Anthropic. He said he hopes the DEF CON event will lead to deeper commitments from AI developers to measure and test the safety of their systems. 15For this to happen, though, Clark said AI systems will need to be examined by third parties both before and after deployment. "We need to get practice at figuring out how to do this. It hasn't really been done before," he said. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 18________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20hacker - n. someone who illegally, or for research purposes, gets into someone else's computer system 21artificial intelligence - n. the development of computer systems that have the ability to perform work that normally requires human intelligence 22confused - adj. unable to think clearly or understand something 23vulnerable - adj. easy to hurt or attack physically or emotionally 24foundation- n. the idea or principle something is based on 25commitment - n. a firm decision to do something 26figure out -v. (phrasal) to discover something by thinking 27__________________________________________________________________ 28What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.