Y Combinator CEO and president Garry Tan / Photo credit: Tech in Asia
Y Combinator president and CEO Garry Tan said that regulations are “likely necessary” for AI while speaking on the tech at The Economic Club of Washington, DC, TechCrunch reported.
While backing the overall genAI risk mitigation framework designed by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, Tan voiced concerns about upcoming AI laws in California and San Francisco, such as a draft permitting legal charges against AI firms whose products cause damage.
He noted that there is “no better time to be working in technology than right now” while highlighting that YC doesn’t back a startup’s mission or product “if we don’t think this is good for society.”
Notably, Y Combinator’s Winter 2024 cohort had 86 AI startups among its participants.
Regarding the future of AI, Tan emphasized the need to “be smart about this technology,” particularly concerning risks related to bioterror and cyber attacks. He also advocated for “a much more measured approach.”
This followed recent developments around the ethics behind the use of the tech. These include OpenAI using a voice that sounded like actress Scarlet Johansson’s and Meta announcing an AI advisory council that only had white men on it.
Meanwhile, Tan said he believes that a “winner take all” AI model is unlikely. Instead, he envisions an “incredible garden of consumer choice and freedom, where founders can create something that touches a billion people.”
See also: Decline in YC funding to SEA firms ‘not intentional’: CEO Garry Tan
Editing by Miguel Cordon and Lorenzo Kyle Subido
(And yes, we’re serious about ethics and transparency. More information here.)
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