Is AI Regulation Around The Corner?

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) erupted earlier this year following the public launch of many AI-based productivity tools. Workers use tools like Chatgpt to help generate ideas and draft emails, among other use cases, to increase efficiency in their roles. However, as AI gains more traction and grows more intelligent, experts are asking if the technology is advancing too quickly for our own good.

A leading AI researcher for Google has resigned, afraid of what he has unleashed on the world. Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, whose pioneering research on neural networks and deep learning has paved the for current AI systems like ChatGPT, warns that AI chatbots are not more intell than humans yet, but fear they may soon be.

He said, “There's an enormous upside from this tech, but it's essential that the world invests heavily and urgently inAI safety and control.” The question is: how would AI be regulated, and who is going to be responsible for it?

Politicians have gotten a start on AI regulation, with the Biden Administration laying down guidelines for a theoretical AI Bill of Rights. The press release for the AI Bill of Rights Blueprint states that while automated systems bring about extraordinary benefits, there is a history of abusing new technology to take advantage of consumers without the proper regulation – namely, with social media. “Unchecked social media data collection has been used to threaten people’s opportunities, undermine their privacy, or pervasively track their activity—often without their knowledge or consent.”

The AI Bill of Rights Blueprint proposes:

·     Safe and effective systems

·     Algorithmic discrimination protections

·     Data privacy

·     Notice and explanation

·     Human alternatives, consideration, and fallback

The Los Angeles Times reports that Senator Chuck Schumer is eager to begin hea on AI regulation with a series of “AI insight forums” featuring top AI experts. These conversations with experts would help to draft legislation to regulate AI tools, an effort that is surprisingly bipartisan.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle have their work cut out for them to draft effective legislation to regulate AI tools, with only a handful of members of congress having any technical expertise coupled with the fact that even the AI experts cannot agree on how to approach regulating AI.

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