Many of the nation’s top minds have issued warnings about the proliferation of unregulated artificial intelligence.
With rapid advancement in artificial intelligence, some are saying the need for regulation is mandatory.
This call for regulation has not fallen on deaf ears while the California legislature rushes to create new legislation surrounding AI. With the continual improvement of artificial intelligence, the ability to distinguish AI-generated material from non-AI generated material has become increasingly difficult.
Senate Bill 942, authored by Senator Josh Becker (D), is an attempt to make it easier to limit AI. This nonpartisan bill places a requirement on all generative artificial intelligence to be marked with both visible and embedded disclosures allowing the consumer to identify the content they are consuming as artificially generated material. This bill is one of many that have been recently proposed at both the State and National level.
With warnings given by some of the top minds of our generation, the question that lingers in the back of the minds of the public and scientific community alike is whether this technology can be controlled through regulation – or if we have essentially opened Pandora’s Box.
Some potential dangers State Senator Becker is particularly concerned with include, “AI-generated images, audio and video (that) could be used for spreading political misinformation and creating deepfakes.” This concern becomes an issue of national security as threats posed by hostile nations continue.
Daily attacks targeting the United States through the usage of new technologies utilizing artificial intelligence are on the rise. The control of information is the key to these attacks. Misinformation and disinformation is only one aspect in the complex world of cyber warfare.
Senate Bill 942 aims to create a greater level of transparency that will help protect our citizens. This bill along with others, is geared towards the protection of the freedoms expressed by the average American in their day-to-day lives.
It is important that the American public is able to distinguish artificially generated content from content that has been written and/or recorded through more traditional means. In many instances, the statement of something being a potential threat to our democracy is an exaggeration. In the case of AI, many say threat is real.
National security is not the only threat posed by AI. SB 942 and other regulatory bills will also be effective in diminishing the threat AI poses on the United States job market. Jobs that non-regulated AI may otherwise have been responsible for taking will be secured if state and federal legislators continue to place strict and well-thought-out regulations on artificial intelligence. With the uncertainty of the long-term effects caused by AI, state and federal officials must be on the alert.
Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking both have issued stark warnings against AI. While Hawking’s warning came from his deathbed in 2018, Musk is actively leading the way in both the creation, control, and regulation of artificial intelligence. Musk’s latest venture in the tech sector, xAI, is an example of how individuals in the private sector may help to contribute to the humanitarian cause of artificial intelligence regulation. While the benefits of AI should not be discounted, the power and scope of AI must not be underestimated.
