(Bloomberg) — Anthropic’s Mythos model should be shared with affected organizations to ensure a level playing field in assessing its uses and dangers, according to Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel.
The artificial intelligence platform, whose advances pose cyber threats to the global economy, shouldn’t be held only for a select club of big US corporations, suggested Nagel, who’s also a member of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council.
“We must prevent the misuse of this technology,” he told a conference in Rome on Tuesday. “At the same time, all relevant institutions should have access to such technology to avoid competitive distortions.”
Anthropic’s Mythos model has sparked global fears of a new era of cyber attacks, also threatening the stability of the financial system worldwide. Such worries featured prominently at last week’s IMF spring meetings in Washington.
Regulators, central bankers and corporate executives are seeking to gain more insight on Mythos, which hasn’t been widely released. There are concerns that financial systems outside the US – including Europe – are at a disadvantage because they have limited access.
“This AI model seems to be a double-edged sword,” Nagel said. “It could be used not only to improve digital security systems, but also to leverage their vulnerabilities for malicious purposes.”
His speech focused on the overall implications of AI on economic growth and price stability. Nagel suggested that it is hard to draw firm conclusions at present.
“The potential effects of AI on inflation are still uncertain,” he said.
While the technology may raise productivity, it could also increase wage pressures and add to electricity prices, he said.
“Even in the shorter run, a disinflationary effect may not materialize if demand rises in anticipation of future productivity increases,” Nagel said, adding that AI algorithms could consistently charge excessive prices.
His comments are more cautious than those of the nominee for the Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, who has argued that technology advances — including the rise of AI — would fuel growth without heating up prices.
In Tuesday’s speech, Nagel chose not to look at the effects of AI on the labor market, which has been a particular focus of his colleagues amid concerns over an uneven distribution of the benefits and massive job cuts.
ECB officials including President Christine Lagarde have highlighted the huge potential of AI, but also urged attention to its possible employment. However, recent ECB research found that the technology is so far having no negative impact on euro-zone jobs.
He’s previously said that AI won’t necessarily lead to staff cuts in Europe and may benefit companies in the region.
