Government AI regulation is necessary, AI experts and policymakers agree. But, there is no clear accord on how much regulation by the government is necessary and what to do if the state begins to infringe upon privacy. FREMONT, CA: As enterprises begin moving AI technologies out of testing and research and into deployment, technologists, consumers, policymakers, and businesses likewise have started to understand that government regulation of digital intelligence is necessary. AI has been dramatically boosting productivity, helping connect people in new ways, and improving healthcare. When used carelessly, AI can also do the opposite as it has the potential to harm human life.

Artificial intelligence brings tremendous opportunity for business and society. But it has also created fear that letting computers make decisions could cause serious problems that might need to be addressed sooner rather than later. Broadly speaking, AI refers to computers mimicking intelligent behavior, crunching big data to make judgments on everything from how to avoid car accidents to where the next crime might happen. If a computer consistently denies a loan to members of a certain sex or race, is that discrimination? Will regulators have the right to examine the algorithm that made the decision? Some big technology companies are seeking to set ethical standards through alliances with futurists, civil-rights activists and social scientists--which critics see as an effort to prevent regulation by government.

As nearly every day brings additional news about how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect the way we live, a heated debate has broken out over what the United States should do about it. On the one hand, the likes of Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking argue that we must regulate now to slow down and develop general principles governing AI's development because of its potential to cause massive economic dislocation and even destroy human civilization. On the other hand, AI advocates argue that there is no consensus on what AI is, let alone what it can ultimately do. Regulating AI in such circumstances, these advocates claim, will simply stifle innovation and cede to other countries the technological initiative that has done so much to power the U.S. economy. The intense focus on these foundational questions threatens to obscure, however, a key point: AI is already subject to regulation in many ways, and, even while the broader debates about AI continue, additional regulations look sure to follow.