Artificial Intelligence

Join ITIF’s Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness for an engaging discussion with leading international experts and peers.

The roots of the word scapegoat go back to biblical times, when the sins of the people were ritually bestowed upon an actual goat, which was then sent away to remove these sins from the community. It’s an apt analogy for the way advanced technologies are now blamed for seemingly every societal ill. But just as goats weren’t responsible for the sins of the ancients, neither is technology to blame for ours.

A recent working paper found that AI and robotics directly promote technological innovation while also bolstering the impact of science and technology investments on technological innovation.

With the AI Act set to take effect soon, the focus now shifts to implementing this complex legislation. Central to this effort is establishing the AI Office, mandated to coordinate the Act's application, conduct AI safety research, develop Codes of Practice, and address compliance issues. However, there are concerns that bureaucratic challenges could hinder the Office, potentially stalling European AI innovation.

Over the last several years, public opinion on technology and the use of data has shifted from excitement to skepticism to fear.

Rob Atkinson and David Moschella appeared on the Explain to Shane podcast with AEI’s Shane Tews to discuss their book Technology Fears and Scapegoats.

The Irish Data Protection Authority (DPA) requested Meta pause its plans to train AI on public posts from its users last week. This request, instigated by complaints and pushback from the advocacy group NOYB (“none of your business”), is a shortsighted move that threatens to stifle innovation in developing AI systems.

As the Biden administration seeks to increase the responsible use of AI in the federal government, it will need to find ways to streamline contracting for AI services, especially for startups not familiar with all the red tape associated with government procurement. One step the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) should take is developing voluntary standard terms for AI contracts to make procurement more efficient and expand federal contract access to a diverse and large pool of vendors, ensuring agencies can access the best systems.

The emerging field that studies LLM productivity-boosting effects offers increasingly auspicious evidence that AI is boosting productivity, particularly for less productive workers. However, additional studies will be necessary to understand AI’s broader impact on firm productivity and the economy.

Given the potential for countries to reshore and automate previously outsourced IT occupations, the Global South’s IT services appear vulnerable to the displacing effects of AI. Yet, existing policy responses may be insufficient to address that challenge.