This is something.
“He’s suffering from Politician’s Logic. Something must be done, this is something, therefore we must do it.”
― Antony Jay, The Complete Yes Minister
We Must Act Now
A Statement on AI’s Transformation of the Economy
The above are the title and subtitle of a recent statement signed by a large number of economists and students and at least one politician, Gina Raimondo. The statement is short and so I’ll quote the whole thing:
AI may become radically more powerful over the next 10 years.
This could drive an unprecedented transformation of our economy, larger than the Industrial Revolution, but unfolding over a vastly shorter time frame. It could bring risks, including large-scale job displacement, as well as opportunities such as major gains in living standards.
Economists, policymakers and technology leaders must act now to understand the economics of transformative AI and to build the incentives, guardrails, and institutions needed to steer AI in a direction that complements humans and benefits society.
I agree with points 1and 2.
This part of number 3 is troubling: “to build the incentives, guardrails, and institutions needed to steer AI in a direction that complements humans and benefits society.”
How would the signers have policymakers do that? They don’t say. But the most troubling word in that quote is “steer.” That sounds an awful lot like government control.
I was somewhat disappointed that Tyler Cowen was one of the signers. I was more disappointed that his more free-market oriented colleague Alex Tabarrok signed it also.
From 2011-2016 there was a TV show, Person of Interest, in which an AI was used to fight crime, but turned out to be the fight between an evil & good AI. It was a lesson as to what happens when special interests control an AI for their own interest & have power behind them. So, what happens when the governments control AI for their own special interests, or limit AI to the advantage of others?
The statement is so vague as to be almost empty, except for the overtones. It does not even say (though it does suggest) that *all* “economists, policymakers, and technology leaders” must do something with respect to AI, just as it does not say (though it does suggest) that governments must take control of the process of adjustment. Just some bad vibes.