Eight years after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff called Facebook “the new cigarettes”, he is raising a similar concern about the fast-growing AI industry, including companies behind tools such as ChatGPT and Claude. During the company’s annual summit, Marc Benioff has warned that the technology could repeat some of the problems created by social media if companies do not take responsibility for its wider impact. His comments come as the debate around AI safety, ChatGPT, Claude and responsible AI development grows. Last week, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for frontier AI labs to slow the pace of development so safety measures can keep up.
Marc Benioff warns AI companies not to repeat social media mistakes
Marc Benioff said AI companies need to avoid problems that social media platforms face. “A lot of companies got hurt, a lot of individuals got hurt through social media,” Benioff told Jim Cramer in a Mad Money interview during Salesforce’s Dreamforce event in San Francisco. “We don’t want that to happen in AI.”Benioff’s comments come as Salesforce continues to work with companies developing generative AI. Last month, Salesforce announced Claudeforce, which includes a plugin that allows customers to use Anthropic’s Claude with data stored in Salesforce. The tool can also perform tasks such as writing emails and updating records.
Anthropic CEO attends Dreamforce keynote
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei also appeared on stage during Benioff’s Dreamforce keynote on Tuesday. “I think that’s the way to lead the industry forward, to set an example, to say that everyone can always be better,” Amodei said.Notably, Benioff did not call for AI development to be slowed or directly criticised individual AI companies. Instead, he said companies developing the technology have a responsibility to consider its wider effects. “We want AI to take care of these things and be held responsible, and take care of these actions and be ethical,” Benioff said. “The heart of ethics is responsibility.”He added:“We really look at a light on our brethren here in San Francisco and all over the world and say, ‘We want you to be ethical in your actions and how you take care of your communities and the world,’ because this technology is very powerful.”
