Largest chipmaker warns of loss of control over AI

People could potentially lose control over artificial intelligence technologies, so this scenario should be anticipated in advance, said Rene Haas, the chief executive of Arm Holdings, the largest producer of semiconductor chips, in a conversation with Bloomberg.

“What worries me most is that people lose agency [because of machines]. We need to create some kind of restart button, a backdoor, a way to disable the system,” he said.

However, the Arm CEO noted the importance of AI in the company’s future development. He estimates that around 70% of the world’s population interacts with the firm’s products.

Haas hopes that in the next 5-10 years Arm will be at the centre of a “technological revolution,” as smartphones spread.

The UK-based company held the status of a tech giant in the early 2010s as its semiconductors were purchased by major hardware makers. Today, the controlling stake belongs to the Japanese holding SoftBank Group.

At present, Haas sees an advantage in cloud data centres, as creating and training language models requires vast amounts of information. In the foreseeable future, he plans to capture 50% of this market.

The company is also aiming to dominate in the so-called “edge computing”, where AI systems run on individual devices rather than from a central cloud.

In May, the Biden administration held a meeting with the heads of Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic, where they discussed AI-related risks.

Later CEO OpenAI Sam Altman testified before the U.S. Congress and urged the government to regulate the use and development of the technology.

The administration also issued an order setting new standards for AI safety and protection. According to the document, irresponsible use of AI could lead to discrimination, bias and other abuses.

In July, actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger drew parallels between real AI and the “Skynet” from the Terminator film, warning of growing threats.