AI & Technology Regulation

Watch

• Is AI the most important technology of the century? ↗TED-Ed
• AI Is Dangerous, but Not for the Reasons You Think | Sasha Luccioni | TED ↗TED
• AI2027: Is this how AI might destroy humanity? - BBC World Service ↗BBC World Service
• The race to create the ultimate AI - Global Eye, BBC World Service ↗BBC World Service
• Five things you really need to know about AI - BBC ↗BBC
• A.I. Revolution | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS ↗NOVA PBS Official

Read

• The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power ↗An exhaustive and critical examination of the economic logic underpinning today's digital giants, indispensable for grasping the regulatory challenge.Shoshana Zuboff
• Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy ↗A trenchant exposé of how opaque algorithms can embed and amplify societal biases, making a compelling case for algorithmic accountability.Cathy O'Neil
• AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order ↗Offers a vital geopolitical lens on the global AI race, contrasting regulatory philosophies and their implications for innovation and control.Kai-Fu Lee
• Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence ↗A sweeping exploration of AI's potential futures, framing the existential stakes and the urgent need for robust governance frameworks.Max Tegmark
• The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and MitigationA seminal report detailing the security risks posed by AI, providing a crucial foundation for policymakers addressing AI safety and misuse.Miles Brundage, et al.
• A Blueprint for an AI Bill of RightsOutlines a set of principles to guide the design, use, and deployment of automated systems, offering a foundational policy vision for responsible AI.White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

Voices to follow

• Kate Crawford ↗A leading scholar and author, her work meticulously dissects the political economy of artificial intelligence, revealing its hidden costs and power structures.Distinguished Research Professor, New York University; Senior Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research
• Stuart Russell ↗A foundational figure in AI, he now champions the critical imperative of aligning advanced AI systems with human values, influencing global safety discourse.Professor of Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley
• Meredith Whittaker ↗As a co-founder of the AI Now Institute, she critically examines the social implications of AI, particularly its impact on labor, surveillance, and corporate power.President, Signal Foundation; Co-founder, AI Now Institute
• Frank Pasquale ↗A prominent legal scholar, he advocates for greater transparency and accountability in algorithmic decision-making, shaping the debate on AI regulation.Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School

Glossary

• Accountability (in AI)Accountability in AI means figuring out who is responsible when an AI system makes a mistake or causes harm. For example, if a self-driving car causes an accident, accountability determines if the car manufacturer, the software developer, or the owner is to blame.
• AI EthicsAI ethics is about making sure that artificial intelligence is developed and used in a way that is fair, safe, and respectful to all people. It asks important questions like 'Is this AI doing good or causing harm?' For example, an AI ethics guideline might say that facial recognition AI shouldn't be used to unfairly target certain groups of people.
• Algorithmic BiasAlgorithmic bias happens when an AI system makes unfair or prejudiced decisions because the information (data) it learned from was unbalanced or reflected existing human biases. For example, if an AI trained only on images of light-skinned people struggles to recognize darker-skinned faces, that's algorithmic bias.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is when computers are programmed to think and learn in ways that seem smart, like humans, to solve problems or make decisions. For example, when your phone suggests the next word you might type as you message, that's AI at work.
• Data PrivacyData privacy is your right to control who sees and uses your personal information, like your name, photos, location, or what you search online. For example, when an app asks for your permission to access your camera or contacts, that's about protecting your data privacy.
• Data Protection LawData protection law is a set of rules that governments create to protect people's personal information collected and used by companies and organizations. For example, a data protection law might require companies to get your permission before sharing your email address with others.
• Digital RightsDigital rights are the basic human rights that apply to people using the internet and digital technologies, like freedom of speech online or the right to privacy. For example, your right to express your opinion on social media without unfair censorship is a digital right.
• PolicyA policy is a plan or set of ideas that a government, organization, or group uses to guide its decisions and actions. Policies are often broader guidelines than specific laws. For example, a school might have a policy about how students use mobile phones during class.
• RegulationRegulation means creating rules or laws to control how something is done, often to keep people safe, fair, or prevent harm. For example, traffic laws regulate how cars drive to prevent accidents and keep everyone safe on the road.
• Transparency (in AI)Transparency in AI means being able to understand how an AI system works, why it made a certain decision, and what information (data) it used. For example, if an AI recommends a product to you, transparency would mean knowing why it made that specific recommendation.

Threads 6

Where this connects to other fields, and why it's worth knowing.

• AI Governance Global Risks

  New technology comes with a nasty catch called the Collingridge dilemma. Early on, it's easy to steer but you can't yet see what harm it'll cause. By the time the harm is obvious, the tech is so woven into daily life you can't steer it anymore. Too soon to know, too late to fix.

• AI & Writing Literature

  Copyright law was built on one assumption: a human wrote it. AI that writes poems and stories breaks that assumption in half. Now judges have to decide brand-new questions, like whether a machine's words can even be owned, and whether feeding it thousands of books to learn from counts as stealing.

• Craft, Fashion & the Made Object Arts & Design

  You can't copyright a dress design, so anyone can legally knock it off, which sounds like it should kill fashion. Instead it does the opposite: copies spread fast, trends burn out, and designers must keep inventing the next new look. The lack of protection is exactly what keeps the whole industry racing forward, the 'piracy paradox.'

• Metaphysics Philosophy

  The dusty question 'what counts as a person?' suddenly has teeth, because a court in New Zealand granted a river legal personhood, meaning someone can sue on its behalf. Now the same puzzle hangs over AI. Deciding what's 'really' a person stops being a debate and starts deciding who's allowed into a courtroom.

• Artificial Intelligence & the Mind Psychology

  If a computer could truly think, courts would face a wild question: can it have rights, and who's to blame when it messes up? Weirdly, we've done this before, we already decided that a company counts as a kind of 'person' who can be sued. That same personhood puzzle, once fought over corporations, is being reopened for code.

• AI Art Arts & Design

  The fight over whether AI can make art you're allowed to own sounds brand new, but it's a rerun. Back in 1884, courts had to decide whether a photograph, made by a machine, could count as real, ownable art, and photography won. That 140-year-old ruling is now being aimed straight at AI image generators. The law's been here before.