On Thursday, June 9, it was my great pleasure to return to my first work office at the Adam Smith Institute in London and give a talk on the future of innovation policy and the governance of artificial intelligence. James Lawson, who is affiliated with the ASI and wrote a wonderful 2020 study on AI policy, introduced me and also offered some remarks. Among the issues discussed:
- What sort of governance vision should govern the future of innovation generally and AI in particular: the “precautionary principle” or “permissionless innovation”?
- Which AI sectors are witnessing the most exciting forms of innovation currently?
- What are the fundamental policy fault lines in the AI policy debates today?
- Will fears about disruption and automation lead to a new Luddite movement?
- How can “soft law” and decentralized governance mechanism help us solve pressing policy concerns surrounding AI?
- How did automation affect traditional jobs and sectors?
- Will the European Union’s AI Act become a global model for regulation and will it have a “Brussels Effect” in terms of forcing innovators across the world to come into compliance with EU regulatory mandates?
- How will global innovation arbitrage affect the efforts by governments in Europe and elsewhere to regulate AI innovation?
- Can the common law help address AI risk? How is the UK common law system superior to the US legal system?
- What do we mean by “existential risk” as it pertains to artificial intelligence?
I have a massive study in the works addressing all these issues. In the meantime, you can watch the video of my London talk here. And thanks again to my friends at the Adam Smith Institute for hosting!
Additional Reading:
- Adam Thierer, “The Proper Governance Default for AI,” Medium, May 26, 2022, https://medium.com/@AdamThierer/the-proper-governance-default-for-ai-d05db6970924.
- Adam Thierer, “What I Learned about the Power of AI at the Cleveland Clinic,” Medium, May 6, 2022, https://medium.com/@AdamThierer/what-i-learned-about-the-power-of-ai-at-the-cleveland-clinic-e5b7768d057d.
- Adam Thierer, Governing Emerging Technology in an Age of Policy Fragmentation and Disequilibrium, American Enterprise Institute (April 2022), https://platforms.aei.org/can-the-knowledge-gap-between-regulators-and-innovators-be-narrowed
- Adam Thierer, “A Global Clash of Visions: The Future of AI Policy,” The Hill, May 4, 2021, https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/551562-a-global-clash-of-visions-the-future-of-ai-policy.
- Adam Thierer, “S. Artificial Intelligence Governance in the Obama–Trump Years,” IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society, Vol, 2, Issue 4, (2021), https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4013880.
- Ryan Hagemann, Jennifer Huddleston Skees & Adam Thierer, “Soft Law for Hard Problems: The Governance of Emerging Technologies in an Uncertain Future,” Colorado Technology Law Journal, Vol. 17 (2018), https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3118539.
- Adam Thierer, “OMB’s AI Guidance Embodies Wise Tech Governance,” Mercatus Center Public Comment, March 13, 2020, https://www.mercatus.org/publications/technology-and-innovation/ombs-ai-guidance-embodies-wise-tech-governance.
- Adam Thierer, “Europe’s New AI Industrial Policy,” Medium, February 20, 2020, https://medium.com/@AdamThierer/europes-new-ai-industrial-policy-c5d945c5579f.
- Adam Thierer, “Trump’s AI Framework & the Future of Emerging Tech Governance,” Medium, January 8, 2020, https://medium.com/@AdamThierer/trumps-ai-framework-the-future-of-emerging-tech-governance-e504943e07d4.
- Adam Thierer, “Soft Law: The Reconciliation of Permissionless & Responsible Innovation,” Chapter 7 in Adam Thierer, Evasive Entrepreneurs & the Future of Governance (Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 2020): 183-240, https://www.mercatus.org/publications/technology-and-innovation/soft-law-reconciliation-permissionless-responsible-innovation.
- Andrea O’Sullivan & Adam Thierer, “Counterpoint: Regulators Should Allow the Greatest Space for AI Innovation,” Communications of the ACM, Volume 61, Issue 12, (December 2018): 33-35, https://doi.org/10.1145/3241035.
- Adam Thierer, Andrea O’Sullivan & Raymond Russell, “Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy,” Mercatus Research, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Arlington, VA, (2017), https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3021135.
- Adam Thierer, “Are ‘Permissionless Innovation’ and ‘Responsible Innovation’ Compatible?” Technology Liberation Front, July 12, 2017, https://techliberation.com/2017/07/12/are-permissionless-innovation-and-responsible-innovation-compatible.
- Adam Thierer, “The Growing AI Technopanic,” Medium, April 27, 2017, https://aboveintelligent.com/the-growing-ai-technopanic-5d6658b00fed.
- Adam Thierer, “The Day the Machines Took Over,” Medium, May 11, 2017, https://medium.com/@AdamThierer/the-day-the-machines-took-over-51076ba8e4f4.
- Adam Thierer, “When the Trial Lawyers Come for the Robot Cars,” Slate, June 10, 2016, https://slate.com/technology/2016/06/if-a-driverless-car-crashes-who-is-liable.html.
- Adam Thierer, “Problems with Precautionary Principle-Minded Tech Regulation & a Federal Robotics Commission,” Medium, September 22, 2014, https://medium.com/tech-liberation/problems-with-precautionary-principle-minded-tech-regulation-a-federal-robotics-commission-c71f6f20d8bd.
- Adam Thierer, “On the Line between Technology Ethics vs. Technology Policy,” Technology Liberation Front, August 1, 2013, https://techliberation.com/2013/08/01/on-the-line-between-technology-ethics-vs-technology-policy.