When it comes to AI, what kind of regulations might we need to address this rapidly developing new class of technologies? What makes regulating AI and runaway tech in general different from regulating airplanes, pharmaceuticals, or food? And how can we ensure that issues like national security don't become a justification for sacrificing civil rights?

Answers to these questions are playing out in real time. If we wait for more AI harms to emerge before proper regulations are put in place, it may be too late. 

Our guest Marietje Schaake was at the forefront of crafting tech regulations for the EU. In spite of AI’s complexity, she argues there is a path forward for the U.S. and other governing bodies to rein in companies that continue to release these products into the world without oversight. 

Correction: Marietje said antitrust laws in the US were a century ahead of those in the EU. Competition law in the EU was enacted as part of the Treaty of Rome in 1957, almost 70 years after the US.

RECOMMENDED MEDIA 

The AI Dilemma 

Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin’s presentation on existing AI capabilities and the catastrophic risks they pose to a functional society. Also available in the podcast format (linked below)

The Wisdom Gap

This blog post from the Center for Humane Technology describes the gap between the rising interconnected complexity of our problems and our ability to make sense of them

The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) & Digital Markets Act (DMA)

The two pieces of legislation aim to create safer and more open digital spaces for individuals and businesses alike

RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES

Digital Democracy is Within Reach with Audrey Tang

The AI Dilemma

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Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_