Apple CEO Tim Cook: Dangers are profound if AI exploits data

Apple
CEO Tim Cook brandishes an iPhone at an EU ethics conference in
Brussels.
Yves
Herman/Reuters

Tim Cook was on the warpath during his trip to Europe on
Wednesday.

In a speech to a privacy conference in Brussels, Belgium, the
Apple CEO launched a stinging
attack on firms like Facebook for weaponizing data for
profit.

He also used the remarks to warn of a disregard for privacy
becoming part of another technological phenomenon — artificial
intelligence.

“Artificial intelligence is one area I think a lot about.
Clearly, it’s on the minds of many of my peers as well,” he said
at the 40th International Conference of Data Protection and
Privacy Commissioners on Wednesday.

He was optimistic about the potential of artificial intelligence.
“At its core, this technology promises to learn from people
individually to benefit us all,” he said.

“Yet advancing AI by collecting huge personal profiles is
laziness, not efficiency. For artificial intelligence to be truly
smart, it must respect human values, including privacy. If we get
this wrong, the dangers are profound,” he warned.

Cook added: “We can achieve both great artificial intelligence
and great privacy standards. It’s not only a possibility, it is a
responsibility. In the pursuit of artificial intelligence, we
should not sacrifice the humanity, creativity, and ingenuity that
define our human intelligence.”

Although Cook did not unpack what the potential dangers may be,
big tech companies have come under fire for irresponsible use of
artificially intelligent systems.

The ACLU, for example, criticised Amazon earlier this year after
it tested its facial recognition software, which wrongly
identified 28 out of the 533 members of Congress as having been
arrested. Amazon defended its software, saying that the ACLU had
not configured its settings correctly.

You can watch Cook’s full speech here: