How AI Can Be Regulated Like Nuclear Energy

Prominent AI researchers and figures have consistently dominated headlines by invoking comparisons that AI risk is on par with the existential and safety risks that were posed with the coming of the nuclear age. From statements that AI should be subject to regulation akin to nuclear energy, to declarations paralleling the risk of human extinction to that of nuclear war, the analogies drawn between AI and nuclear have been consistent. The argument for such extinction risk has hinged on the hypothetical and unproven risk of an Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) imminently arising from current Large Language Models (e.g., ChatGPT), necessitating increased caution with their creation and deployment. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has even referenced to the well established nuclear practice of "licensing", deemed anti-competitive by some. He has called on the creation of a federal agency that can grant licenses to create AI models above a certain threshold of capabilities.