Himanshu Gupta at WEF AI House: responsible AI and individual agency
WEF AI House, Davos 2024 · 2024
At WEF AI House in Davos 2024, Himanshu Gupta focuses on the risk side of AI: the AI wave, the need to avoid repeating the mistakes of 30 years ago, and the responsibility individuals have in their own digital and consumption choices.
What he said
Why focus on the risks of AI?
Gupta wants to focus on AI's risk side. His framing: don't repeat the mistakes of earlier technology waves — look hard at individual responsibility.
“the risk side as well and the reason I want to go into the risk side because yesterday I was”Watch at 00:08
What mistake does he want to avoid with AI?
Gupta warns against repeating earlier mistakes with the AI wave. His point is that the AI moment needs more care.
“the AI wave so we should not be the same mistakes as we did 30 years ago”Watch at 01:13
Where does individual responsibility enter?
It enters directly. Gupta says people themselves have to be the real heroes.
“we ourselves have to be the real heroes”Watch at 01:27
What kind of personal footprint does he name?
He gives digital storage as an example. In his example, storing 400 GB of cloud photos carries an emissions footprint for an American resident.
“400 GB of photos that you store in your cloud if you are a an American resident your emission footprint would be 0.2 tons”Watch at 01:27
What choices does he ask people to reconsider?
He asks whether people need to keep buying clothes and clicking so many pictures. The examples stay at the level of personal consumption and digital behavior.
“do we really need to buy six clothes every every month every season every holiday season do we really need to click so many pictures”Watch at 01:54
Why not just look to corporates for solutions?
Gupta asks why people create a problem and then look to corporates for solutions. The emphasis stays on responsibility before blame.
“so why end up creating a problem and then look for you know blame corporates or look for corporates for solutions”Watch at 02:04
Key takeaways
- Gupta focuses on the risk side of AI.
- He says the AI wave should not repeat the same mistakes as 30 years ago.
- He argues people themselves have to be the real heroes.
- He names cloud photo storage, clothes buying, and picture-taking as personal choices to reconsider.
- He asks why people create a problem and then look to corporates for solutions.