Meredith Whittaker, the head of the Signal Foundation, warns that the real threat of artificial intelligence (AI) lies not in dystopian fears of machines turning against humanity, but in the careless use of the technology itself. Speaking to BBC Global Women, she stated, "The risk is very real, but it's not the shiny ghost stories the wild-eyed boys are talking about."
Immediate Dangers of AI
Whittaker cites a concerning incident reported by CNN, where a chatbot used by US intelligence fabricated information about a Chinese vessel allegedly carrying nuclear material. This misinformation nearly led to a military response from the US. "We almost went to war with China," she remarked. "A system that produces faulty intelligence and almost gets us into a war with China should not be considered super-intelligent by any standards."
Signal's Commitment to Privacy
The Signal app, which has an estimated 40-70 million users, is known for its strong privacy protections, unlike larger competitors like WhatsApp. Whittaker, recognized by Time magazine as one of the most powerful people in AI, has a unique background. She joined Google in 2006 without a computer science degree and became prominent after opposing Project Maven, a controversial AI contract with the US Department of Defense.
In 2017, she publicly criticized the project, stating, "This is going to launder bad intelligence and bad data." Her activism contributed to a walkout involving around 20,000 Google employees, which ultimately led to Google dropping the contract.
