Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
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With the AI regulation debate in Washington at a critical juncture, the United States cannot afford to sit on the sidelines while China and Europe decide these fundamental issues for the world.
Over the past few years, Big Tech firms’ failure to address privacy concerns and combat disinformation has prompted a growing debate about the apparent conflict between their professed values and their bottom lines.
Today people are seeing how an allergic reaction to authority and hierarchy leads them to hide power relations behind a series of euphemisms that obscure more than they illuminate.
It’s time to look at the problem differently. Those attempting to address the issue should move away from attempts to regulate disinformation and toward the ecology of the information environment more generally.
Certainly our society is not ready for what is about to be thrust upon us as a result of the birth of artificial intelligence. Our only alternative appears to be to adapt as quickly as we can, because now that the Pandora’s box is open, there is likely no going back.
It is understandable that the potential broadening of the scope of the EU’s AI Act’ makes the United States nervous. Washington should come to the EU with targeted suggestions, as its domestic conversation around AI risks matures.
The order marks an essential step to rein in a shadowy industry that seems unwilling or unable to control how and by whom its products are used. But the ultimate impact will depend on whether the White House can galvanize similar action in Congress, at the local level, and among like-minded governments abroad.
A closer look at one of the most accepted norms for AI systems—algorithmic transparency— demonstrates the challenges inherent in incorporating democratic values into technology.
More broadly, without a demonstrated commitment to common guidelines, these actions will breed uncertainty among the spacefaring community and create opportunity for misinterpretation and mistrust, which could escalate to crises or outright conflict between states.
As governments around the world grapple with regulating AI, they can draw lessons from China’s experience.