Building a Responsible AI Future: An Insight with Igor Jablokov of Pryon
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As artificial intelligence continues to rapidly advance, ethical concerns around the development and deployment of these world-changing innovations are coming into sharper focus.
In an interview ahead of the AI & Big Data Expo North America, Igor Jablokov, CEO and founder of AI company Pryon, addressed these pressing issues head-on.
“There’s not one, maybe there’s almost 20 plus of them,” Jablokov stated when asked about the most critical ethical challenges. He outlined a litany of potential pitfalls that must be carefully navigated—from AI hallucinations and emissions of falsehoods, to data privacy violations and intellectual property leaks from training on proprietary information.
Bias and adversarial content creeping into training data is a significant concern, states Jablokov. He also worries about security vulnerabilities such as embedded agents and prompt injection attacks, plus the immense energy consumption and environmental impact of large language models.
The roots of Pryon reach back to the early whispers of contemporary AI over twenty years ago. At IBM, Jablokov previously guided an advanced AI team where a rudimentary version of what would become Watson was created. Jablokov reminisced, “They did not approve it. Thus, out of frustration, I left and established our previous company.” That company, also named Pryon, was Amazon’s inaugural AI-related acquisition, laying the foundation for what is currently Alexa.
The present manifestation of Pryon seeks to address AI’s ethical dilemmas through responsible design concentrating on critical infrastructure and high-risk use scenarios. Jablokov clarified, “[We aimed to] develop something deliberately robust for critical infrastructure, vital workers, and more serious endeavors.”
Providing companies with flexibility and management of their data environments is a crucial aspect. Jablokov stated, “We offer them options regarding how they’re utilizing their platforms…ranging from multi-tenant public cloud, private cloud, to on-premises.” This enables organizations to isolate highly confidential data behind their own firewalls when necessary.
Pryon also highlights the significance of explainable AI and credible sources of knowledge. “Whenever our platform reveals an answer, it is possible for you to click on it, and it will always lead you to the source page, pinpointing exactly where it acquired certain information,” said Jablokov. This makes it possible to verify the origin of the knowledge.
In areas like energy, manufacturing, and healthcare, Pryon has integrated human supervision prior to AI-produced directives being sent out to frontline employees. According to Jablokov, supervisors have the ability to examine the results and ultimately grant ‘approval’ before the information reaches the technicians.
Jablokov is a strong proponent of creating new regulatory structures to ensure the ethical creation and implementation of AI. While he welcomes the recent executive order made by the White House, he also voiced concerns regarding potential risks linked to generative AI such as hallucinations, static training data, data leakage vulnerabilities, lack of access controls, potential copyright disputes, and more.
Pryon has been actively participating in these regulatory debates. Jablokov explained, “We have been proactively communicating with an array of governmental agencies…We’re playing an active part in sharing our viewpoints on the regulatory landscape as it unfolds…We’re making our presence known by voicing potential risks tied to the use of generative AI.”
Regarding the potential of uncontrolled, existential “AI risk” as some AI leaders have cautioned, Jablokov maintains relative composure over Pryon’s regulated approach. “Our focus has always been on verifiable attribution… pulling from companies’ own content to help them understand the source of the solutions, and then they can decide whether or not to implement these decisions,” he explains.
The CEO firmly distances Pryon’s mission from the emerging group of unrestricted conversational AI assistants, some of which have caused controversy due to hallucinations and lack of ethical boundaries.
“We’re not a joke establishment. Our technology is intended for some of the gravest scenarios on Earth,” Jablokov asserts. “None of you would be comfortable being rushed to an emergency room only to find medical staff inputting questions into a ChatGPT, a Bing, a Bard…”
The importance of subject matter expertise and emotional intelligence in high-stakes, real-world decision-making situations is not lost on him. “You want a medical professional with years of experience treating ailments similar to your own. And guess what, you appreciate the emotional factor that arises from their genuine concern for your recovery,” he added.
At the upcoming AI & Big Data Expo, Pryon plans to present new enterprise use case examples. These demonstrations will show how its platform is used across a range of industries including energy, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and governmental sectors. There will be hints about multiple ways to utilize the Pryon platform apart from the all-inclusive enterprise solution, which could include more basic access options for software developers.
The scope of AI is expanding rapidly from specific tasks to broader capabilities causing ethics to become increasingly important. Pryon is focused on governance, proven knowledge sources, human supervision, and regulator cooperation. This strategy offers a blueprint for a more ethical AI development across industries.
The complete discussion with Igor Jablokov can be viewed below:
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Tags: ai, ai & big data expo, ai and big data expo, artificial intelligence, ethics, hallucinations, igor jablokov, regulation, responsible ai, security, TechEx
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