WASHINGTON, July 12, 2022 – Representatives from academia and a nonprofit diverged at a Bipartisan Policy Center event Tuesday about whether the government should step in and minimize problems associated with artificial intelligence, including bias and discrimination in algorithms. "We really do want actors to help us establish national and international guidelines," said Miriam Vogel, president, and CEO of EqualAI, a nonprofit that seeks to reduce bias in AI. "We are driving full speed without lanes, without speed limits to manage the expectations." While acknowledging the benefits of AI in society today, Vogel said its algorithms present risk that often leads to bias and discrimination. She shared the example of how facial recognition misses certain voices or skin tones. AI is used in various sectors and powers algorithms that cater services to individuals.

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.

I certainly think we are on the ascent here, whether it's concerns about technological unemployment or an AI-driven apocalypse. Perhaps proponents haven't done a good job in telling a plausible, compelling story about how tech progress and automation syncs with human flourishing. Or maybe our risk averse natures makes us particularly resilient to such stories. This paper explains why pessimistic prognostications dominate so many discussions about the future of the Internet and digital technology today. It boils down to a combination of individual attitudes and institutional dynamics.

If you wonder how self-driving cars will handle bicyclists, dogs, balls rolling into the street and all the other uncertainties of the roadway, consider what your phone is doing while you sleep. "The way Tesla's treating a car, it's like rolling code, a rolling computer, it's becoming like our phones," said Adam Thierer, a senior research fellow with the Technology Policy Program at George Mason University's Mercatus Center. "We get daily updates for our phones, for our apps and our operating system. That's going to happen for our cars." Thierer has studied Google's descriptions of odd situations its autonomous vehicles have encountered and Tesla's Autpilot update downloads.