TikTok CEO urges firms to address AI cybersecurity risks

TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi emphasized the need for a better understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) risks during a dialogue at the DBS Asia Future Forward conference on October 12. He stated that there is a "non-zero chance" that AI will become superior to human beings in certain aspects due to the evolving technology. However, Chew believes that the short-term risks related to AI, particularly cybersecurity, are real and significant.

Users often unknowingly grant agentic AI models excessive permissions, such as access to credit cards, leading to potential overspending. While large language models like ChatGPT and Claude mainly answer questions, AI agents are designed to perform tasks. In the corporate world, these models have reduced the cost of creating spam content.

Nonetheless, businesses should focus on making spam too expensive to carry out on their platforms. TikTok, which has approximately 2.21 billion users globally, still sees a disparity between AI-generated videos and their views. Chew urged individuals to gain hands-on experience with AI, as merely reading about it is insufficient.

Employees must be trained to protect trade secrets and legal information from being disclosed to public chatbots. AI, according to Chew, is only beginning to demonstrate its potential, with breakthroughs expected in the next two to three years. Although humans need time to adapt to this technology, underestimating AI's long-term impact is risky.