The recent appointment of Elizabeth Kelly as the head of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Institute under the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) by the Biden administration has raised eyebrows among tech industry experts and conservative commentators. While radical progressives celebrate the move as a step toward mitigating AI-associated risks, others fear that the proposed regulations could stifle innovation in the field.
One need only consider the scientific truths currently being hotly debated in the public square to see how a far-left regimes capture of AI technology could be not inhibiting to productive development, but dangerous to those who may find themselves in disagreement with an administration that has already clearly shown its vindictive nature and willingness to wield power you hurt those it considers enemies — as President Donald Trump has learned.
Kelly, an economic adviser to the Biden White House, played a key role in drafting the legislation for the institute. But draft legislation influenced by the “Center for AI Policy” has sparked concerns that bureaucrats will be granted sweeping powers to regulate and manipulate AI technology, including the outright seizure of AI systems under an administratively declared “state of emergency.”
The executive order also calls for the creation of the Frontier Artificial Intelligence Systems Administration that would wield considerable power over the AI industry. Critics view this new federal bureaucracy as a handout to “Effective Altruism” advocates like Paul Christiano who are perceived as having outsized influence over federal policy due to large political donations from far-left activists like co-founder of Facebook Dustin Moskovitz.
Biden’s AI Executive Order Embraces Radical Ideology Over Innovationhttps://t.co/bZsWjClAt0
— The Federalist (@FDRLST) April 23, 2024
Matthew Mittelsteadt a research fellow at the Mercatus Center warns that the administration’s stringent safety rules overlook the government’s practical budgetary and administrative capabilities potentially slamming the brakes on AI development in the federal sector.
AI faces significant challenges over the coming years, but if keeping the technology out of the hands of those who would wield it nefariously is counted as one of those challenges, then it may be a challenge that it is too late to meet.
