With David Sacks, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and technologist, now being tapped to serve as artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency czar in the incoming Trump administration, we thought we’d give him a friendly memorandum that will further his mission on the AI front can support: Regulating the future of this critically important technology, balancing innovation, trade policy, national security, employee interests, geopolitics and more. Here’s a list of dos and don’ts, in no particular order of importance for the new AI czar.
Stimulate American dynamism and entrepreneurship.
The race for AI is global and so far the United States leads the world in terms of AI research, but also in AI applications in industry, military, science and development. Sustaining AI leadership requires not only smart regulation, but also enabling highly qualified engineers to come and study and build their companies in the United States. This is a race for the future and the US government can put its foot on the pedal to ensure continued leadership.
Consider nuanced and detailed regulations.
There is a race for the development and implementation of AI tools, but also for regulation. Regarding the latter: avoid the temptation to regulate for regulation’s sake. There are already plenty of laws on the books for consumer safety and citizen well-being. Assess whether they include AI applications and if so, simply provide advice. Too much regulation at the state level makes compliance difficult and expensive.
Provide an artificial intelligence safety net for the American worker.
The risk that AI will disrupt the employment status quo is quite high. In March 2023, Goldman Sachs predicted that 300 million knowledge worker jobs could disappear worldwide. While creative destruction runs its course and actual figures may vary, there is a need for transitional support and to help affected workers with career planning, retraining and job placement. Allocating public dollars to career safety nets and retraining initiatives is taxpayer money well spent. AI is not like the trade deals of the past, which just handed out aid for trade adjustments. Such support is necessary, but must be much more strategic and thoughtful.
Take national security concerns seriously. Artificial intelligence in the wrong hands and geopolitical rivals are something to worry about.
Bad guys, nefarious actors and automation no-goodniks will also use AI tools. Make sure the good guys stay one step ahead of the bad guys. Increase the human capacity of government. Let’s not forget that the previous generations of groundbreaking technologies were sown by government laboratories.
Avoid legal capture. Please don’t do what Big Tech offers.
Regulatory capture is a problem in every industry, but AI poses other tough challenges. Technological expertise exists within the AI companies themselves, and not so much outside them. In other sectors, academia and government research labs have similar expertise, but in AI the leading labs are all from within the industry itself. Moreover, technology is developing rapidly, faster than the ability of our authorities to control it. The prize for the winners is quite high – they dominate the future of production, consumption and even opinion – and so is the temptation to lobby and influence the regulators. regulation.
Don’t let activism dominate the agenda.
There are many claims floating around about the harms of AI – some of which are true, and some of which are hypothetical. The AI alarmism comes from both the usual suspects – activists and non-governmental organizations – and from technology circles, which imagine apocalyptic AI scenarios. The trick is to choose the right AI risks to regulate.
Ensure responsible use of artificial intelligence.
Clarify the rules for the industry and don’t keep the AI sector guessing. If there are regulations, provide guidance on the steps needed to comply. Developments are moving quickly, so maintain regulatory flexibility with options such as regulatory revision. That is the essence of smart regulation.
Encourage open source technology.
Open source enables crowdsourced innovation, expands the talent pool and makes low-cost alternatives available. In short, open source offers freedom of choice. In this context, we should not immediately dismiss public choice in the field of artificial intelligence. If you want a successful moonshot, consider some nationalization ideas to get everyone to “buy American.” After all, government programs like DARPA created the Internet and many other groundbreaking technologies that are the precursors to today’s artificial intelligence.