> Another way to put it is, why burden the government with an unsustainable uncompetitive market? For what?
Because the societal costs of certain industries' unregulated activities do more harm than the economic cost of doing that regulation.
Despite what the Libertarian Party's pamphlet might say, regulation is invariably reactive rather than proactive; the saying is "safety-codes are written in blood", after-all.
Note that I'm not advocating we "regulate AI" now; instead I believe we're still in the "wait-and-see" phase (whereas we're definitely past that for social-media services like Facebook, but that's another story). There are hypothetical, but plausible, risks; but in the event they become real then we (society) need to be prepared to respond appropriately.
I'm not an expert in this area; I don't need to be: I trust people who do know better than me to come up with workable proposals. How about that?
If you'll excuse my departure from what is normal lexicon for this site, I believe that without pre-emptive regulation on AI technology advancement and mergers the "wait and see" phase quickly becomes a "fuck around and find out" phrase.
Regulatory bodies have long been behind on understanding of technology, for example for the first few decades of world wide web advancements (and I would argue even now). I don't think we can afford a reactionary lag time with a technology capable of so profoundly transforming our societies.
I hope we can nudge the developments in a positive direction before there is an all-out AI arms race. I understand the nuances in balancing regulating your own country's AI efforts with making sure you are not outstripped. Perhaps we need something akin to the international treaties dedicated to avoid a colonization dash of outer space.
I'm well aware of the common usage - try to turn your perception to see how it applies here in the abstract sense. The ones who believe no regulation is necessary will be delivered the finding out through brilliantly and hilariously malicious agents.
Because the societal costs of certain industries' unregulated activities do more harm than the economic cost of doing that regulation.
Despite what the Libertarian Party's pamphlet might say, regulation is invariably reactive rather than proactive; the saying is "safety-codes are written in blood", after-all.
Note that I'm not advocating we "regulate AI" now; instead I believe we're still in the "wait-and-see" phase (whereas we're definitely past that for social-media services like Facebook, but that's another story). There are hypothetical, but plausible, risks; but in the event they become real then we (society) need to be prepared to respond appropriately.
I'm not an expert in this area; I don't need to be: I trust people who do know better than me to come up with workable proposals. How about that?