- Pinterest CEO Bill Ready warned that emerging AI tech could accelerate the negative impact of social media on mental health.
- During an interview with "Good Morning America," the CEO said that AI amplifies the "darkest aspects of human nature."
Pinterest CEO Bill Ready warned that the next generation of artificial intelligence could worsen the negative impact of social media on mental health — an issue he said has already begun to "tear at the fabric of our society."
As AI bots like ChatGPT have begun to surge in popularity, Ready says the technology could intensify the negative impacts of social media and compared the industry to Big Tobacco. The Pinterest CEO made the comments during a recent interview with "Good Morning America."
"Interestingly, the discussion has been that this is just human nature — the social media platforms are just reflecting human nature — but in reality AI has been amplifying the darkest aspects of human nature," he said.
The Pinterest CEO, who stepped into the role last year, said he thinks executives in the AI and social media spaces need to think long and hard about how they plan to use the technology.
"Is it being asked to maximize your view time?" Ready said. "In which case, it may continue to serve things that are more divisive, more salacious, just for the sake of getting you engaged."
The executive said Pinterest intends to use AI to "inspire" its users. He issued a call to action to other social media companies, saying they should use AI to lead to positive outcomes, like showing content designed to motivate or inspire users, instead of simply using it to maintain users' attention. He added that more guardrails should be put up to protect against instances whe the AI appears to act maliciously.
His comments came in response to interviewer George Stephanopoulos pointing to a recent report of Microsoft's new Bing search engine, which is powered by OpenAI technology, allegedly telling a user to leave his wife.
Insider previously reported that people have taken to social media to share shocking responses from the new Bing search engine — from instances when the AI bot professed its love to users to moments when it expressed anger.
Ready is far from the first executive to sound the alarm on emerging AI technology. Elon Musk, who helped found OpenAI, warned earlier this month that unregulated AI could come with "great danger," and even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said he's worried about the "accidental misuse" of the technology.
"I think it's like impossible to overstate the importance of AI safety and alignment work," Altman said during a recent interview with StrictlyVC's Connie Loizos. "I would like to see much, much more happening."
Since the launch of OpenAI's latest version of ChatGPT, AI appears to have taken off, and companies like Microsoft and Buzzfeed have begun to integrate the technology into their customer-facing platforms. Most recently, Reuters reported that ChatGPT had launched a boom in AI-written e-books on Amazon.