It's Not 1995 Anymore: Craig Newmark on Why the US Needs to 'Move Fast' on AI

17.08.2023 - 18:09 / pcmag.com / Ai

Craig Newmark is a rare tech billionaire who doesn't see the value in status symbols like a Porsche or Rolex, a symptom of what he comfortably calls his "nerdly dysfunction."

The 70-year-old programmer-turned-philanthropist stepped down as Craigslist CEO in 2000 to focus on the best ways to donate his fortune. Recently, he's been working with organizations that are developing ethical AI guardrails, such a Common Sense Media and the Mozilla Responsible AI Challenge (with a $100 million donation to support veterans and military families sprinkled in).

As someone who was formerly at the center of another major technological change—the advent of the internet—he brings a unique perspective to the space. "Back then, we were more optimistic than we should have been,” Newmark said in a recent interview. “Today the spirit is different. It's a more skeptical environment, and rightfully so.”

But rather than pausing AI development, as Elon Musk and other high-profile figures have suggested, Newmark advocates for the US to move quickly—and responsibly. AI is "on par with the invention of the printing press,” Newmark says. “The printing press changed the rules [and then] the internet changed the rules, so it's both scary and a little bit exciting.”

As Craigslist took off in the mid-'90s, Newmark found himself in the middle of an internet gold rush similar to what we see today with AI.

"The buzz of easy money for the right technology was in the air in general, and the subject of talk at industry parties and events," he recalls. "There was this optimistic spirit that we would work together and make things better for everyone."

Investors offered him "billions" to monetize Craigslist with ads and listing fees, but he turned them down. That decision was surprisingly easy. He felt the site was useful as-is, and, because of his "dysfunction," saw no value in having more to spend on flashy items.

He has no regrets: "I’ve seen very frequently power makes you stupid, and more often than not, money makes you stupid." The techno-optimism of the dot-com era also hasn't proven to be foolproof. "Now that everyone has gotten on the net, we know there are a lot more people with good intentions, but just a few bad people have hurt us all in big ways," he says.

Craigslist has struggled with content moderation, an area Newmark hopes AI can improve. He tried his hand at it for Craigslist, and the images still haunt him. He suspects those who do it for a living have a high likelihood of "ending up in therapy," a main reason he funds anti-online harassment efforts. But an AI tool could remove the need for human review, provided the systems are cost-effective and have fewer false positives than today's tools. OpenAI, for example,