Blog Post #9

The Need For AI Regulation

As a technology enthusiast, I have been terrified by the very idea of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for years. As Elon Musk has said, "With Artificial Intelligence we are summoning the demon. (McFarland, 2021)". I believe that he is right when he claims that AI can be a bigger threat to civilization than nuclear weapons. Our parents grew up with the fear of the Cold War. Our generations is now growing up with the fear of the AI Revolution.

There are dozens of risks of AI, ranging from simply job loss and privacy concerns to far more serious consequences such as weapons authorization and uncontrollable self aware AI that could lead to human extinction. Maybe I’ve just read too many science fiction novels, but I believe there is an immediate need to put regulations into place. If it isn’t regulated there is too great a risk that it will be abused both by companies and by governments.

Just as there are international regulations and treaties regarding nuclear weapons, such as The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, there too should be treaties and international regulations surrounding AI. Since the United States is the leader in AI, with 60% of the top tier AI researchers and $249 billion in private funding, this regulation needs to start here at home (Kearny, 2024). Some of the risks can possibly be addressed by existing government regulatory bodies such as the FTC. The FTC has authority of "false and deceptive" practices such as AI deepfakes. 

All existing regulatory bodies are very limited however with what they can regulate regarding AI. The creation of a regulatory body specifically for AI is probably necessary moving forward because the industry is becoming so massive. The new regulatory body could have the ability to license new technology and investigate complaints of abuse for example. On a global scale, the United Nations (UN) last year announced that they are planning on creating a 39 country advisory body to investigate the global governance of AI.

I also believe that colleges and university will
need to begin to have majors dedicated to AI since it is the wave of the future and our generation needs to be qualified to both work in and help regulate this industry. There could potentially be a lot of different employment opportunities dedicated to working with AI.

Works Cited:

E. Kearny, Tim (2024, January 29). Top 10 Countries Leading in AI research and Technology in 2024. Techopedia. https://www.techopedia.com/top-10-countries-leading-in-ai-research-technology

McFarland, M. (2021, December 5). Elon Musk: ‘With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon.’ Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2014/10/24/elon-musk-with-artificial-intelligence-we-are-summoning-the-demon/