Artificial Intelligence Regulation

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, stood in front of the US Congress today, asking our government to regulate his industry. Unfettered advancement in AI technology will undoubtedly cause all sorts of ethical problems that have yet to surface. Regulators are placed in a tough position; we all know that the technology needs to be regulated, but no one knows the right way to go about it.

Under-regulate, and we end up in a world with many near open-source AI software that people with malicious intent can easily leverage to exploit for gains. Over-regulate, and we risk stifling the technology or losing the AI race to other countries (notably China).

I certainly don't have the answer for Congress on the right regulatory policies, but I do know one thing: Regulation helps industry incumbents over startups. Large companies have the resources to comply with complex regulation and can use that leverage to prevent newcomers from entering the space.

It was not a surprise that Sam Altman wants Congress to regulate AI, Mark Zuckerberg wants Congress to regulate social media, and Brian Armstrong wants Congress to regulate crypto. Big companies love regulation at the expense of newcomers.

Despite all of that, I welcome some regulation. Just make sure it doesn't hurt the small guys.