Anti-Corruption Party

Artificial intelligence must be regulated immediately

The prospect of fully autonomous workplaces is a capitalist’s wet dream. AI has the potential to upend our entire economy through permanent job displacement. While AI is humorously wrong sometimes right now, in the not so distant future, there is a good chance that it will outperform humans. This is especially true when combined with robotics. Warehouse and factory work will become a thing of the past, as well as some white collar professional jobs.

Furthermore, what is more disturbing than economic collapse, is the very serious potential for automated killing machines. Some of which already exist and robot dogs with automatic rifles attached as a turret on their torsos. AI will change the battlefield forever and likely for the worse. Some AI researchers describe the technology as potentially more dangerous than atomic weapons. It is very likely that this is true.

So, while there can be upsides to AI, many of the negative baggage that comes with it, must be addressed. The US and other major countries need to come to an agreement to limit weaponized AI production much like that of nuclear weapons. Additionally, when speaking economically, there needs to be compensation given to those who’s data has been used to train AI models. Furthermore, there needs to be a plan in place to ensure the survival of citizens who face permanent unemployment. Likely, this is going to be part of a tax and spend program where those companies who utilize AI pay a tax to help offset their destruction of the normal social contract.

These technologies can take us far, but, we should not be as so optimistic as to be willfully blind to the significant challenges ahead. We need government to make commonsense regulations, enforce them, and adapt quickly to technological advancements.