Apple Co-Founder Warns AI Will Make It Harder for You to Spot Scams

Artificial intelligence may make it more difficult for you to spot and avoid scams. That’s according to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who told the BBC on Monday that the technology could be corrupted by bad actors. He called for industry leaders to impose more regulation.

Wozniak is dubious that generative AI will replace humans — a common concern in the debate over the future uses of the tech — but he’s convinced AI-powered tools could sound like humans. By using large language model programs like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, bad actors can easily create seedy scams and run rampant online, Wozniak said. 

“AI is so intelligent it’s open to the bad players, the ones that want to trick you about who they are,” he told the BBC. He wants strict industry standards to hold companies developing AI accountable, but he’s dubious that regulators will get it right. “I think the forces that drive for money usually win out, which is sort of sad,” he said.

Read more: It’s Scary Easy to Use ChatGPT to Write Phishing Emails

Since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT last year, companies have released a deluge of generative AI software that can do things like create code, plan a vacation, write poems and answer all sorts of questions for you. Google unveiled its own AI chatbot, Bard, in February, shortly after Microsoft launched a new AI-powered Bing search. Social media companies Meta and Twitter have also teased that their own AI products are coming soon. 

In March, more than 1,000 AI, tech and other industry leaders, including Wozniak and Elon Musk, signed a petition to halt the development of AI programs beyond ChatGPT 4 due to the “profound risk” these systems may pose without any industry regulation. 

“Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization?” the letter asks. 

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.