Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen said Friday that artificial intelligence companies need to “step up and adhere” to the spirit of their self-regulatory agreement with the White House. meta Mark Zuckerberg and other CEOs signed the document.
“This is the history of technology companies dealing with regulation: When you’re dealing with a very flexible system, they often follow a precise written statement,” Haugen told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in an interview Friday.
He questioned whether companies would stick to the “spirit of the rules” or try to “step outside the box” by exploiting things that are not explicitly prohibited.
Haugen, a former product manager on Facebook’s citizen misinformation team, leaked a trove of internal documents to the Wall Street Journal in 2021, resulting in a series of reports called “The Facebook Files.” Some of the documents showed the company was aware of how its platform was negatively impacting the mental health of teens.
Aaron Sorkin’s new film, The Social Reckoning, which will be released on October 9th, centers on that story. Haugen also wrote a book about his role in bringing the documents to light, “The Power of One: How I Find the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Belw the Whistle on Facebook.”
Haugen said AI companies are “more proactive” in addressing safety concerns today than they have been in years past, as the debate over the threat of AI to humanity has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks. She also mentioned a push from human CEO Dario Amodei defended the independent auditor.
“I think it’s a recognition that at least Dalio knows that if given room to cut corners, our angels will start cutting corners, too,” Haugen said.
