Publications: Hodan Omaar

While the Artificial Intelligence Research, Innovation, and Accountability (AIRIA) Act strikes the balance between innovation and accountability better than other AI policy proposals, it puts the horse before the cart, requiring the Commerce department to come up with technical solutions to complex, nontechnical problems that haven’t been fully defined yet.

The decision by so many governments, especially the United States, to legitimize the belief that AI presents an existential risk that governments must address will seriously undermine efforts to rapidly develop and adopt the technology for beneficial purposes.

In the nearly 25 years since the first quantum technologies workshops, quantum information science has advanced and its potential to drive major advances has become more apparent. The U.S. government has rightly recognized that it needs to play an active role in ensuring the nation remains competitive in this critical field.

The biggest risk to consumers is that the myriad opportunities AI offers will not be translated into all the areas where they can make a positive difference in people’s lives.

Oppenheimer, has many people drawing parallels between the control of nuclear weapons and the calls to curb AI. But developing and deploying powerful AI systems is not like developing and deploying the atomic bomb.

The White House is developing a national artificial intelligence strategy to “chart a path for the United States to harness the benefits and mitigate the risks of AI.” Previous administrations and Congress have taken some steps toward this in the past, but those efforts did not go far enough.

A national AI strategy is necessary to bolster U.S. competitiveness, strengthen national security, and maximize the societal benefits that the country could derive from AI.

Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) launched a two-pronged proposal last week for a U.S. policy approach to AI. While the proposal lacks a clear call to promote widespread AI adoption, the Senator offers a sensible path to generating AI policy that remains innovation-friendly and balanced.

Several AI industry leaders and researchers signed an outlandish statement this week claiming AI systems pose an existential risk to humanity and urging policymakers to prepare for them with the same urgency they give nuclear war and pandemics. Their doomy predictions are nothing more than catastrophizing, but unfortunately, such hyperbolic claims fan the flames of AI fears and detract from productive discussions on how to ensure AI is developed and deployed in ways that serve society.

In response to China announcing draft regulations for generative AI to bolster the Chinese Communist Party’s influence on global AI rules, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) unveiled a proposal last month to regulate AI in the United States. Senator Schumer should keep faith in—and advocate for—a light-touch approach to AI regulation because it provides a much-needed counter to the heavy-handed regulatory approach from China and the EU.