Artificial Intelligence: The Emerging Challenges
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for decades, but with the launching of generative AI apps, like ChatGPT which debuted in December 2022, policymakers have become much more interested in understanding both the benefits and dangers of this rapidly developing tool. AI generally has been defined as “machine learning models developed through training on large volumes of data in order to generate content” in the form of images, text, and audio. Or, as the European Parliament puts it, “AI is the ability of a machine to display human-like capabilities such as reasoning, learning, planning and creativity.”
For years, thought leaders in the cyberworld have touted the advantages of artificial intelligence: AI can help avoid human error; it can be available 24/7; it can be a form of digital assistance instead of relying on human interaction; it can perform repetitive tasks; it can formulate unbiased decision-making; it can be deployed in risky, dangerous situations; it has a wide variety of applications in medicine and disease prevention, along with other promising developments.
But for years, leaders in the cyber world have warned against the excesses and the unregulated nature of AI. This one-sentence warning from the Center for AI Safety, a nonprofit organization, has been signed by more than 350 AI scientists, executives, researchers and engineers: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks, such as pandemics and nuclear war.”
The European Parliament overwhelmingly approved the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, which is part of the European Union’s digital strategy to “ensure better conditions for development and use of this innovative technology.” EU rules were first proposed in April 2021, setting up a classification system, according to the risks involved. The European Parliament’s priority is to make sure that AI systems in the EU are “safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly. AI systems should be overseen by people, rather than by automation, to prevent harmful outcomes.”
The EU rules will ban AI systems as “Unacceptable Risks” if they are considered a threat to people. Such unacceptable risks are (1) cognitive behavioral manipulation of people or specific vulnerable groups (for example, voice-activated toys that encourage dangerous behavior in children); (2) social scoring: classifying people based on behavior, socio-economic status, or personal characteristics (for example, systems allowing law enforcement to predict criminal behavior using analytics); and (3) real-time and remote biometric identification systems, such as facial recognition.
Then in late October 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order on AI, the most sweeping and comprehensive affecting this new industry. The Biden administration asserted that the Executive Order “establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world, and more.” The administration stated that it had consulted widely with Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the EU, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, the UAE, and the United Kingdom, as well as ongoing discussions with the United Nations.
The Biden administration acknowledged that, despite the comprehensive nature of the Executive Order, that much still needed to be done the Congress, and done without delay. However, then came a change in administration. Immediately upon entering office, Donald Trump issued an Executive Order “eliminating harmful Biden Administration AI policies” that “hinder AI innovation and onerous and unnecessary government control over the development of AI.”
Sources: Laurie A. Harris, Artificial Intelligence: Overview, Recent Advances, and Considerations for the 118th Congress, Congressional Research Service, August 4, 2023, R47644, https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47644; “What is Artificial Intelligence and How is It Used?” European Parliament, June 20, 2023, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20200827STO85804/what-is-artificial-intelligence-and-how-is-it-used. “Statement on AI Risk,” Center for AI Safety, n.d., https://www.safe.ai/statement-on-ai-risk (accessed October 24, 2023). “EU AI Act: First Regulation on Artificial Intelligence,” European Parliament, June 8, 2023, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20230601STO93804/eu-ai-act-first-regulation-on-artificial-intelligence. Liz Landers and Luke Barr, “How Obama Helped President Biden Draft the AI Executive Order,” ABC News, November 3, 2023, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-helped-president-biden-draft-ai-executive-order/story?id=104608286. “President Biden Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence,” The White House, October 30, 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/30/fact-sheet-president-biden-issues-executive-order-on-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-artificial-intelligence/.“Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Takes Action to Enhance America’s AO Leadership,” The White House, January 23, 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-takes-action-to-enhance-americas-ai-leadership/
