Signal Director Whittaker: Technology Companies Are Responsible for Their Choices
Signal Foundation Director Meredith Whittaker drew attention to the careless use of technology and emphasized that companies bear responsibility.
In statements to the BBC, Signal Foundation Director Meredith Whittaker stated that the careless use of technology and artificial intelligence poses urgent dangers, emphasizing that technology companies are responsible for the decisions they make and the choices they pursue.
Artificial Intelligence Errors and Risks
It was recalled that a chatbot used by US intelligence produced fabricated information about a ship carrying Chinese nuclear material, which nearly led to the risk of war. Whittaker stated that these systems, which produce erroneous intelligence, cannot be considered superintelligent.
Past Protests and Projects
Whittaker, who was named among the most influential figures in the field of artificial intelligence by Time magazine, played a significant role in the 2017 protests against Project Maven between Google and the US Department of Defense.
Whittaker argued that this project, which envisioned developing AI-powered target acquisition systems for drones, was directly linked to a missile attack on a school in Iran.
Messaging Apps and Encryption
Demands by the UK and other governments for access to conversations in messaging applications were described as a regime of communication and information control. Whittaker emphasized that encryption either works for everyone or for no one, and that this is a fundamental principle of rights.
In response to the question of whether they would leave a country that forced Signal to weaken its encryption, she stated that they would withdraw from the market rather than expose people to the risk of surveillance.