ChatGPT, Midjourney and Jasper AI are just a few of the artificial intelligence tools running at Bermuda’s newest digital network operator, Paradise Mobile.

Speaking at the Bermuda Tech Summit 2023, the company’s chief digital officer, Nicholas Gonzalez, cautioned that these tools do not run without supervision.

“Ultimately, AI ends up being more of an augmentation to those who are using the tools rather than a replacement,” Mr Gonzalez said in a panel called The Transformative Power of AI. “We are giving our staff superpowers.”

Mr Gonzalez said AI holds the potential for great benefit to society in arenas such as climate change and workflow, but also negatives.

“The potential for bad actors to leverage AI is huge,” Mr Gonzalez said. “There needs to be a fine balance.”

Megan Reiss, chief executive of SolidIntel Inc, a consulting firm that uses AI to identify potential risks in company supply, said regulation holds the biggest risk for AI.

“My big concern is always that the push for regulation comes before the push to understand what the technology is,” Dr Reiss said. She has previously worked as a senior staffer for the United States Senate.

She complained that “70 and 80-year-old men, who did not even use a smartphone” were making decisions about regulating rapidly developing AI without really trying to understand it.

“I am a little worried that the European Union will push to regulate without really understanding where that could hinder growth,” she said.

Dr Reiss seemed to rejoice that the US congressional hearings on regulating AI were not progressing well, in her opinion.

Last month there was controversy when US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer kicked off a high-profile bipartisan forum on regulating AI that was closed to the media and the public. Senators themselves did not have the chance to ask questions directly to tech billionaires such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, but had to submit them in writing.

Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren called it “just plain wrong”.

“There seems to be a lot of upheaval,” Dr Reiss said. “The good thing is that there probably will not be a really comprehensive AI Bill coming through the Senate anytime soon. And it definitely won’t get through the House in the near future.”

She thought the delay could give people in the industry more time to get their ducks in a row.

She wanted to see more working groups, and discussions with legislators about what good and bad AI looked like.

The panel was moderated by Mikal Minors, chief executive of Better Digital, and included Hugo Bautista, global product risk manager of Bloomberg.

The three-day event was presented by the Bermuda Business Development Agency at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club.