The first attempts to regulate artificial intelligence programs that play a hidden role in hiring, housing and medical decisions for millions of Americans are facing pressure from all sides and floundering in statehouses nationwide. Only one of seven bills aimed at preventing AI's penchant to discriminate when making consequential decisions -- including who gets hired, money for a home or medical care -- has passed. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis hesitantly signed the bill on Friday. Colorado's bill and those that faltered in Washington, Connecticut and elsewhere faced battles on many fronts, including between civil rights groups and the tech industry, and lawmakers wary of wading into a technology few yet understand and governors worried about being the odd-state-out and spooking AI startups. Polis signed Colorado's bill "with reservations," saying in an statement he was wary of regulations dousing AI innovation.

So is David Grossman's formulation correct? Is Hootie the soundtrack of the uncomplicated phase of Francis Fukuyama's end of history, the peak of liberal confidence and American power and post-ideological relaxation? Shouldn't a pure "it's the end of ideological conflict, and I feel fine" work of art be a little bit less angsty, a little sunnier than Darius Rucker singing, "Let her cry, if the tears fall down like rain/Let her sing, if it eases all her pain"? Or Adam Duritz crooning mournfully, "It's raining in Baltimore, baby/But everything else is the same"? Still, when I look back on this music, there's something about Grossman's analysis that rings true.

We are surrounded by surveillance cameras that record us at every turn. But for the most part, while those cameras are watching us, no one is watching what those cameras observe or record because no one will pay for the armies of security guards that would be required for such a time-consuming and monotonous task. But imagine that all that video were being watched -- that millions of security guards were monitoring them all 24/7. Imagine this army is made up of guards who don't need to be paid, who never get bored, who never sleep, who never miss a detail, and who have total recall for everything they've seen. Such an army of watchers could scrutinize every person they see for signs of "suspicious" behavior.