What's the story?
- In recent weeks, Congress has been considering legislation to regulate artificial intelligence.
- Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has taken early steps toward legislation, circulating a broad framework on regulating AI among experts. The framework "outlines a new regulatory regime that would prevent potentially catastrophic damage to our country while simultaneously making sure the U.S. advances and leads in this transformative technology."
- In March, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) introduced a bill written by ChatGPT that called for a nonpartisan commission on AI regulation.
Arguments for AI regulation
Ethics and safety
- Many have ethics and safety concerns about AI jeopardizing human welfare and privacy. They argue that Congress should develop moral security standards for AI technology. Lieu's proposal read:
"Congress has a responsibility to ensure that the development and deployment of AI is done in a way that is safe, ethical, and respects the rights and privacy of all Americans."
Employment and labor
- Supporters of the bill are urging Congress to address the employment and labor issues that come hand-in-hand with the distribution of AI. As AI technology disrupts industries and alters work, Congress regulation can protect workers and provide new opportunities.
- States like California, Maryland, and Washington are already considering legislation to regulate the use of AI during the hiring process. In 2022, the federal Algorithmic Accountability Act was introduced in Congress, mandating employers to perform an impact assessment and evaluate the use of automated decision-making systems on employment.
- In a Senate Committee Hearing, Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said:
"When AI systems are used in these high-risk settings without responsible design and accountability, it can devastate people's lives. A person may be unfairly rejected from a job, be denied or unable to find housing, or be wrongly accused of fraud and stripped of the benefits they need to support their family."
National security
- Opponents of unregulated AI say it can pose national security risks through AI-powered cyberattacks, autonomous weapons, misinformation campaigns, and privacy violations.
Accountability
- Others argue that the lack of AI governance guidelines, limited public understanding of AI, and the complexity of machine learning models raise accountability concerns. In a Committee Hearing, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental, said:
"This lack of visibility into how AI systems make decisions creates challenges for building public trust in their use."
Arguments against AI regulation
Innovation and competition
- Those against regulating AI point to Congress's hands-off approach to technology regulation, saying that too much oversight may stifle innovation and competition.
Cost
- Additionally, many feel that overregulation may create unnecessary costs and burdens for smaller companies and startups with limited resources.
Limiting benefits
- Some argue that AI has the potential to revolutionize industries, such as healthcare and transportation, and that regulations may restrict AI's benefits. During a Senate hearing, Rep. William Timmons (R-SC) said:
"I couldn't imagine my life without Google, Apple, or Amazon. I haven't been to the grocery store in three years, and it's great. I'm sure this is going to create additional opportunities to make my life more efficient, and make me more capable of having a greater impact."
What do you think? Should Congress regulate AI?
(Photo Credit: Unsplash)
-Laura Woods
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AI needs regulations which hopefully are better than current ones for internet as they haven’t been very successful at protecting personal privacy due to business interests & influence (competitiveness with China & large companies).
Once again Europe is leading the way which will become a global cornerstone, with a white paper, On Artificial Intelligence—A European Approach to Excellence and Trust (2020), a proposed framework, The Artificial Intelligence Act (2021), which was approved (2022) in order to develop AI products that can be trusted by classifying AI systems by risk (high risk product covered by safety legislation, high risk human service, interacts with humans) and mandate various development and use requirements in order to put in place appropriate safeguards, monitoring, and oversight.
Since there are already developed products prior to regulations can they be trusted or is the horse already out of the barn based on experience wit ChatGPT? How do regulations balance AI innovation yet protect the public?
Regulating AI is incredibly complex because:
(1) it can be not only a stand alone product but embedded in other products.
(2) bias in algorithms like automated credit card approvals that discriminate against a population, eg women, young people, etc which are amplified beyond human decision making due to automation (nation-wide, global application) and resulting class action lawsuits
(3) trust and scope of use. AI used for photo focusing is of less concern than AI used for legal or medical decision making. If it goes wrong the outcomes are more serious.
(4) scale of geography and markets for nationwide or global applications. If you’re developing local applications for COVID restrictions, weather or product prices and discounts, the local situation may be vastly different than a national or global average.
(5) compliance with regulations (local, state, national, international) and organizations (businesses, non-profits, governmental, etc)
(6) transparency so results can have human review, decision making and modifications. Needs to explain rationale, risk/benefit, trade-offs, lessons learned considered.
(7) Whether continuous learning will be allowed and how frequently to review changes occurring due to continuous learning
The European Regulatory Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act focuses on:
(1) data quality
(2) transparency
(3) human oversight
(4) accountability
The challenges already observed by observing ChatGPT (large language model) versus the new regulations (very application specific):
(1) No sense of truth - susceptible to large scale misinformation
(2) No sense of ethics - has made threats, recommended a user commit suicide which was done
(3) suggested high risk activities declaring they aren’t high risk
“Even ChatGPT…thinks it might need regulating: “The EU should consider designating generative AI and large language models as ‘high risk’ technologies, given their potential to create harmful and misleading content,” the chatbot responded when questioned on whether it should fall under the AI Act’s scope.”
As a result, European regulations being rewritten.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-eu-ai-act-will-have-global-impact-but-a-limited-brussels-effect/?amp
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-plan-regulate-chatgpt-openai-artificial-intelligence-act/
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/european-approach-artificial-intelligence
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/03/the-european-union-s-ai-act-explained/
https://hbr.org/2021/09/ai-regulation-is-coming
I am not against folks having a job, nor am I against AI. I remember in the early 80's when the first garbage trucks came out with hydraulic lifts for trash cans. Used to be three men to a truck. Now that one driver/operator earns the wages of all three workers. I believe we should be putting money into our primary education system. So our future students will be ready to repair and operate these robotics. We will always need laborers and unskilled workers, to do the manual work. In 1976 Jimmy Carter came to be president to support workers, but he ran into Big Businesses with their lobbyists to take over this country. Ending good wages, good insurance, pensions and job security. We now see how the CEO's of these companies believe in AI workers. You pay once, no benefits, no insurance, no retirement, when it breaks or exceeds its worth, you buy a new one. Our government supports these big businesses 100%. Congressional folks will tell you they support you. But you don't have a million dollars for their campaign funds, like these big businesses do. Schumer isn't going to step on his millionaire friends in these businesses. He says one one thing but watch him roll over. He is not the only one, nor does it matter which Party. Even Nixon was against big businesses. Watch who you vote for, study each candidate, making sure they will support you and not big businesses.
Greedy, immoral corporations plan to use AI to squeeze more work out of their employees while paying them less and squeeze more money out of their customers...
What could go wrong???
If you can imagine it, it will happen--guaranteed!
We are going to get screwed over by souless AI greed machines...
Congress and government need to get ahead of this AI progress. We need regulations, ethical guidelines, and consequences and we need them now.
Invite the sharpest minds from every field and do something before it's too late and AI is abused to damage our country.
Yes, but Congress can't do it!
More government intervention and regulation is never good, it should be streamlined with less government, less regulation and more individual rights returned to the citizens.
Government involvement has a way of infringing on rights of citizens while wearing the cloak of security and the illusion of safety.
"Congress has a responsibility to ensure that the development and deployment of AI is done in a way that is safe, ethical, and respects the rights and privacy of all Americans." But in March 2020 the (UN)Patriot Act expired without reauthorized but the surveillance infrastructure still exists, so the alphabet agencies are still collecting information on US citizens and storing in sites.
Once a government gains a power over its citizens is it truly relinquished or just repackaged and brought out as another protection that the citizens need.
Fix the debt ceiling and the renewing each year of voting on it to extend it to pay our bills.
Federal law requires Congress to produce a budget each fiscal year to set spending limits. Under normal process 1) the President submits a budget proposal to Congress, 2) both chambers produce their own budget resolution, and 3) Congress passes appropriations bills that set the spending levels.
Passing a balanced budget and paying down our debt should be the priority along with passing term limits for Congress and the Senate.
To Senators,C.Booker,Menendez,and Congressman A.Kim
A I should most definitely be regulated by Congress and be monitored by the Communities of Faith,and ethical practitioners.
We have entered into age where ethical and moral behaviors are being blurred by personal desires and monetary profit
Any people or nation who do not provide guidelines, politics, rules regulations and rails to protect people from harm from enemies from within and without are facilitating their demise.
Grab it before it gets away....
Cross Posted
Rise of artificial intelligence is inevitable but should not be feared, ‘father of AI’ says
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/07/rise-of-artificial-intelligence-is-inevitable-but-should-not-be-feared-father-of-ai-says?
"I would be much more worried about the old dangers of nuclear bombs than about the new little dangers of AI"
-Prof Jürgen Schmidhuber
We all work. We are all useful. Why should we need machines? It's bad enough you need cars. I use a bike, no oil. We have upon us a global warming crisis that is ignored to this day! Every year you freaks, America puts out more pollution than the next year. Year after year, it's disgusting, pathetic and genocidal. You wanna end life on earth and you deserve to be punched in the 💋 now! Corporations take their manufacturing out of America to worldwide when America says you can't do that here. Pollution gets done elsewhere so understand that they work with satan to end life on earth. They planned for today in America but never for the not so distant future. Because of it, much of America underground waterways have been wrecked and poisoned. Fracking really put a huge dent in underwater natural systems also. They cause constant earthquakes which I think are permanent. Our leaders are owned by the rich. The rich hate us and want to enslave us. They'd love to say their robots are trustworthy but we all know anything can be easily hacked. Screw your robotics. Screw it. Get out through your little heads, I really don't like you and know that your power has ruined us and it's time you go to jail! You're racist and imperialistic complete with kings and queens on the Supreme Court who are full of it. They've ruined us all because as the founders warned the rich would but our leaders and screw us over. All the meaningless costly wars the Republicans have done leave them unable to ever win again yet through the rich owning all the media which they use for propaganda and less than informative news they are able to keep pushing meaningless and cruel laws on our health, infrastructure, ethics, survival, institutions and constitution. They are traitors to everything but fascism. They want slaves, they are confederates, they are nazis, they are neonazis, they are the kkk, they are the Satan worshipers, the perverts and the psychos. Our government has been nothing but imperialistic but now that the rich have fleeced America what will the people demand? I'll demand justice to Trump and his republican congressmen and senators and all others who supported his attempted coup and big lie be sent to jail as traitors! I want Biden to go green and act like FDR to save earth from our ways. Take the rich out of power, in other words, end the electoral college, end gerrymandering, end propaganda, end the toxic pandemic, end citizens united, end all gifts to representatives in all offices and let every elected official have to be dedicated to his duties and promises to the public. Fakesters like Joe Manchin, Kirsten Sinema and maybe even Dick Durbin because he has the power to reject Republicans denying court appointees with their blue slips that reject appointees for no reason at all other than racist reasons. Dick Durbin I really don't like you. You're not man enough to hold your seat at all. Historically no other Democrat in your seat has let the Republicans reject appointees with their stupid blue chip denials. Treacherous, #OUST
How do you expect the morons in Congress to regulate AI?
#1 I support AI regulation. #2 Congress is not staffed or equipped to do the regulation itself. We need to establish some standards and a body witin the administration that can report to and advise the US Congress on AI questions and the need for legislation.
Too much potential for mischief or abuse to not establish regulations regarding the use of AI.
This tech can easily be used against peaceful people by both foreign terrorists and American RepublicaNazi terrorists who get people killed so the richest .0001% can get richer and exert more power over all others.
Not only do I support regulating AIs but support the fact thaat they should not even be allowed. You can "program' a machine by what is installed into it, but is impossible to incorporate emotional understanding in that very machine. Graanted machines have their place in our society, but at what cost? Employment loss creating a drain on our social services, homelessness, poor medical and health assistance. Once again, another attempt to controll the population of their choice and their word as law.
One of the helpful insights is remembering that by the time concerns about social media arose and lawmakers started getting involved, it was already too late and a lot of damage had been done. We've seen social media's influence during elections and the politicization of the pandemic, and warning signs are being raised about AI in the coming election. We've already seen the Republican Party open with an AI generated video. Everyone, I hope, seeing it knows that it's not real, but it's visceral enough to influence or at least reinforce sentiments. It will have impact.
It's essential that Congress gets into AI regulations now as it emerges. If not, we will find ourselves in the same lost position we find ourselves in defending ourselves from online abuse and other contemporary technologies.
Find a way to protect us from Artificial Intelligence's ability to lie.
The sooner, the better!
There is a potential for danger when AI isn't regulated! Just think about all those AI answering systems used by corporations & big business. How many times have you repeated over and over, "Representative," just to get to talk with a human. These AI systems have limited programming. How many times have you said the reason for calling after the AI system asked that, and then it replied, "I don't understand that," which means I not programmed to understand that. Now imagine that AI rolling around your neighborhood, and the damage it could cause when it encounters a problem it isn't programmed for! Now imagine if the AI is given emotions so it can better understand humans. Humans can't deal with each other, so how can they program an AI to do what they can't! When you consider all these things, you can see that regulations are needed!
I think there definitely need to be guidelines. But they need to be written by people who actually understand AI. The last story I read about congressional hearings regarding computer technology did not prove that our representatives have a good hold on even fairly basic concepts.
I normally don't support a lot of government regulation, but I think we need to slow down AI implementation.
Yes, Ai should be regulated. There is a very clear danger to people when it is used the wrong way, or falls into the wrong hands.