Amazon enters AI safety fray, calls for "rigorous testing," safeguards

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 17 (Reuters) - Amazon weighed in on the artificial intelligence safety debate roiling Silicon Valley, saying AI labs should ensure models are released only when they are safe and fully tested, but stopped short of calling for an industry slowdown.

“We don't see it as a choice between progress and safety,” a spokesperson for the Seattle firm told Reuters. “Models should be released when they're ready and safe to use, which comes from rigorous testing and strong safeguards.”

The company provided its views in response to a Reuters inquiry days after many of the largest labs called for slower AI development, following an outcry among researchers and others who fear the technology could evade human control and threaten global systems and even humanity itself.