Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

OpenAI CEO Calls For Global Body To Regulate AI; Thousands Of Flight Attendants Protest At Major U.S. Airports; Greenland Suffers Huge Ice Loss Over Three Decades. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired February 13, 2024 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:34:23]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Open AI CEO Sam Altman says a global regulatory body should oversee artificial intelligence. He was speaking earlier today at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Altman says he is not interested in, quote, killer robots walking down the street, but says that AI could present what he calls subtle societal misalignments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM ALTMAN, OPENAI CEO: But we are going to need, I believe at some point, some sort of a global system. The example that I've given in the past is the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, for what happens with the most powerful of these systems, because they will have truly global impact. And what sort of auditing, what sort of safety measures do we want in place before you can deploy like a superintelligence or, you know, and what sort of auditing, what sort of safety measures do we want in place before you can deploy like a superintelligence or, you know, however you want to call an AGI.

And I think for a bunch of reasons, the UAE would be so well set up to be a leader in the discussions around that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:35:20]

SCIUTTO: Deploy a superintelligence, goodness. Let's discuss now with Sara Fischer, she's a media analyst, senior media reporter for Axios.

Not the first time Altman himself has asked for AI to be regulated. I wonder, I mean, is there kind of a critical mass for this or other of his tech peers on the same page here?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, well, a lot of tech companies are asking for regulation in the U.S. In terms of a global standard, that's where it gets really tricky. For these companies, they're creating algorithms that are pulling from across the web, a global web.

And so for them, they want to have one standard to adhere to, instead of trying to adhere to continental standards, different regional standards. By the way, we saw this in the privacy world when we were thinking about advertising. Europe came up with one big standard. And every single Internet company had to just adhere their global policies to that one standard, because it was just too hard not to.

SCIUTTO: Right. In other words, you have to go for the highest standard to abide by that.

This is not a great time of international cooperation, you might have noticed. And AI, it's a weapon. Part of this concern is weapon. You have this competition, U.S., Russia, China, all that kind of stuff. I just wonder, is it realistic? Does Altman, do others consider this a realistic path forward? I mean, is there enough of agreement among countries around the world that, hey, we may not like each other, but we really better do something about this AI thing?

FISCHER: It's optimistic, because one of the biggest tensions is that there's two ways you can build your AI systems. One is open sourced, so anyone can go in and add to the code.

But there's some big security issues with that. You think about biohacking, for example. The other is more of a closed system, where one company owns their AI code.

Now, different countries are going to have different preferences. You can understand why maybe a democratic system might want an open sourced code. But then more of a closed system, like an autocracy, like China, might want something closed. So I think it would be hard to come up with something universal.

SCIUTTO: Just look at the way they do their Internets, right? The great Chinese firewall and that kind of stuff. I mean, how about domestically? When I see like the -- when I see Congress discuss high tech, I always laugh a little bit, because I was like, these guys, I'm not so sure they know what they're talking about.

I don't know. There are real questions about whether they're behind how quickly Congress can move. I mean, is there a chance of a U.S. version of this?

FISCHER: There is, but the problem is there's not a lot of unification right now. There's like 191 different AI bills being talked about in Congress. The only ones that are getting a lot of attention are the ones that I think consumers would relate to.

For example, disclosing when you're using AI in a political ad. That's something that's getting a lot of steam. Making sure researchers have access to different AI systems. That's something that people seem to agree on.

But as you mentioned, we've passed so few bills, we still don't even have a national privacy law here in the U.S. I'm skeptical.

SCIUTTO: Yes, talk about just spending bills. Difficult enough. Sara Fischer, thanks so much.

And still ahead, some say they haven't had a pay raise in years. Now they are hitting the picket lines. Thousands of flight attendants are on strike at major airports across the U.S. More on exactly what they're demanding that's coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:51]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Thousands of flight attendants at several major airports across the U.S. are protesting today, demanding pay increases and improved working conditions. According to the Association of Flight Attendants, some of these aviation workers have not had a raise in five years.

SCIUTTO: CNN's Pete Muntean has been following the story. So, Pete, I'm curious, what are you hearing from flight attendants on the picket lines? And I'm also, of course, curious what this means for all the flights in the coming days and weeks. There's a holiday weekend coming up.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The impact on passengers is minimal right now. Not a strike, but rather a protest, officially called informational picketing, protected labor action for off-duty flight attendants.

I want to show you this scene earlier today at Reagan National Airport just outside of Washington, D.C. This is bringing together flight attendants from multiple unions, multiple airlines. Flight attendants from Alaska Airlines, Air Wisconsin, United, American and Southwest are all pushing for new contracts from their airlines.

The Association of Flight Attendants say some of them have not had a raise in five years. This is called a worldwide day of action. Flight attendants from 24 airlines are doing this at more than 30 airports. It includes airports from coast to coast in the U.S., also in Alaska and Hawaii, as well as London and Guam. The Association of Flight Attendants says this.

We're working harder than ever with long days, short nights, more time away from family, and in some of the most difficult working conditions of our history. Working conditions and pay have been eroded by consistent operational issues and cost of living significantly higher following the pandemic.

Suzanne Shafer is a flight attendant for regional carrier Republic Airways.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUZANNE SHAFER, CHIEF STEWARD, TEAMSTERS LOCAL 135 FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: The living wage is not in the industry, and we put in a lot of hours for the few hours that we get paid.

It's not uncommon to be on duty for 12 to 16 hours and get compensated for between 4 and 6. We are not living in the 1920s. This is 2024. We need to be paid and compensated accordingly and treated with respect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:45:00] MUNTEAN: A lot of developments on this today. Flight attendants from Alaska Airlines will take a strike authorization vote today. American Airlines flight attendants are asking again for permission to strike, but federal laws keep flight attendants from going on strike. They can only walk off when federal mediators declare an impasse in talks.

One other important thing to note here. We have also heard from the flight attendants on board Alaska Airlines flight 1282, which was the flight that lost its door plug back on January 5th. They say that they are America's first responders. They are on the front lines, and they were in the back of the plane in a terrifying situation. All the more reason why they should get some help from their airlines.

KEILAR: We know they save lives in some of these critical situations. We've seen it time and again. Pete Muntean, thank you so much.

SCIUTTO: Greenland, it's getting greener. That's a problem, though. The world's largest island is melting at an alarming rate. That is having a major impact on the planet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:19]

KEILAR: Climate experts are sounding the alarm over a troubling new report showing Greenland is getting greener. A new major analysis of satellite data shows Greenland has lost 11,000 square miles of ice between the mid-1980s and the 2010s. That's about 36 times the size of New York City. Scientists say warmer air has turned giant swaths of the North Atlantic Territory into vegetation and wetlands. And it's presenting serious consequences for climate change and rising sea levels.

We're joined now by Bill Nye, The Science Guy. He, of course, is a science educator, making all of this so clear to those of us who want to understand it better. Bill, tell us about this report. It's so alarming.

BILL NYE, THE SCIENCE GUY: Well, everybody, people have been concerned about this business of Greenland's ice for decades. So there's two big problems.

As the ice falls off of this island, Greenland, it makes the sea level go up. By putting ice in a glass of water, you can get it to overflow. For example, ice that was on land is now in the ocean.

And then as the ocean itself gets warmer, it expands. So both of these things make sea level rise. And when sea level rises, the problem is about half the people in the world live on coasts, on sea coasts.

So the infrastructure, the housing, warehouses, roads we have on the shore will get overwhelmed by tidal forces by the ocean. OK, that's a problem.

But the other thing that's very serious is the circulation of the ocean, which goes all over the world. The circulation of water that sinks near Greenland, goes along the ocean floor around the world and back is being disrupted because it's not sinking in the same way. That when you add all this ice, which is fresh water, not salty water, then it doesn't sink. Because what makes this circulation start is evaporation, even in cold ocean water, it evaporates, becomes increasingly salty and sinks.

Well, that thermohaline, heat, salt, flow, thermohaline is being disrupted by all this ice falling off of Greenland.

KEILAR: And I should mention, we were looking back and we saw that you were on CNN back in July of 2012. And you were discussing the ice melt in Greenland, saying that this was proof of climate change, sounding the alarm there. And so this is something we've been watching for a long time. And it's also this cycle, right, of releasing the gases as the permafrost thaws. It seems like this vicious, vicious cycle. Is there any way to, I guess, do anything to avert this? Or is it really just a matter of slowing it down?

NYE: Two things. To avert. And then the other thing, proof. It's a consequence of climate change. And people have talked about this for a long time. So if you want to get technical, which is fun, the Gulf Stream is what happens on the surface.

It's this clockwise circulation that keeps Europe warm and so on. But then there's this overturning, this AMOC, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Well, if you want to do something about it, two things I tell everybody.

Talk about it. If we were talking about climate change the way we talk about a bunch of other very important issues, we'd be doing something about it. And then the thing to do about it really is to vote.

You know, we have people running for president in the world's most influential country who won't even talk about climate change, let alone talk about what they're going to do about it. So it's happening. It's happening faster and faster because the so-called feedback mechanisms are both going the wrong way.

As we lose ice, we lose sunlight reflecting into space, which makes things warm up faster and faster. And then when we release this ancient methane, which ancient swamp gas that was covered with ice, that methane is also very powerful greenhouse gas. So these are troubling things.

But the sooner we get to work on it, the better. And the latest research is that there isn't really a turning point. There isn't like a click where it's all going to go to heck.

[15:55:00]

Instead, it's just going to get worse and worse and worse, and that getting worse will accelerate. So the sooner we get to work, the better.

KEILAR: Yes, we need to get to work. Bill Nye, thank you so much for explaining it to us, and hopefully it's hitting home for a lot of people. We appreciate you being with us.

NYE: We can do this, people. Thank you.

KEILAR: We can do this. All right, so when we come back, a true rocking horse with a very specific musical taste.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: A Canadian racehorse named Pretty. Sure turning heads, but not for her looks. Look at what Pretty does when she hears heavy metal.

[16:00:16]

KEILAR: Pretty lives in Ontario where her groom, that's like the person who cares for the horse in the stables. I was today years old when I found that out, by the way. Her groom says the harder the metal, the more Pretty headbangs. Pretty's groom has also tried other kinds of music to test out her predilections. The horse said nay to country and gave a bigger nod to her heavy metal favorite, Slipknot. The plan for Pretty is to give some weekly music reviews. So rock on Pretty.

"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.