(C) Common Dreams
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The U.S. Regulates Cars, Radio and TV. When Will It Regulate A.I.? [1]
['Ian Prasad Philbrick', 'More About Ian Prasad Philbrick']
Date: 2023-08-24
Historically, regulation often happens gradually as a technology improves or an industry grows, as with cars and television. Sometimes it happens only after tragedy. When Congress passed, in 1906, the law that led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration, it didn’t require safety studies before companies marketed new drugs. In 1937, an untested and poisonous liquid version of sulfanilamide, meant to treat bacterial infections, killed more than 100 people across 15 states. Congress strengthened the F.D.A.’s regulatory powers the following year.
“Generally speaking, Congress is a more reactive institution,” said Jonathan Lewallen, a University of Tampa political scientist. The counterexamples tend to involve technologies that the government effectively built itself, like nuclear power development, which Congress regulated in 1946, one year after the first atomic bombs were detonated.
“Before we seek to regulate, we have to understand why we are regulating,” said Representative Jay Obernolte, a California Republican who has a master’s degree in A.I. “Only when you understand that purpose can you craft a regulatory framework that achieves that purpose.”
Brain drain
Even so, lawmakers say they’re making strides. “I actually have been very impressed with my colleagues’ efforts to educate themselves,” Mr. Obernolte said. “Things are moving, by congressional standards, extremely quickly.”
Regulation advocates broadly agree. “Congress is taking the issue really seriously,” said Camille Carlton of the Center for Humane Technology, a nonprofit that regularly meets with lawmakers.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/upshot/artificial-intelligence-regulation.html
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