Obama Wants the Government to Help Develop AI

President Barack Obama sees the government playing a role in the development of AI. In an interview with WIRED Editor-in-Chief Scott Dadich and MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito, President Obama said the government should facilitate a range of research in artificial intelligence. "The way I've been thinking about the regulatory structure as AI emerges is that, early in a technology, a thousand flowers should bloom," he says. "The government should add a relatively light touch, investing heavily in research and making sure there's a conversation between basic research and applied research." That means the government should help provide a path for getting AI into the real world.