Since AI gained historic prominence in 2022, conversations about how the industry could be regulated have swelled similarly. Many startup founders think regulating the industry now could stifle innovation. However, others don’t agree and consider waiting to implement policy and regulation could bite the sector down the line.
The Debate on AI Regulation
Helen Toner, the director of strategy and foundational research grants from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology and a former board member at OpenAI, understands the AI industry’s anxieties around regulation. But at TechCrunch’s StrictlyVC event in June, Toner told the audience that AI players shouldn’t be afraid of regulation now but rather be more fearful of regulation that could come on a whim later.
Risks of Delayed Regulation
Toner added that if the U.S. government stalls on implementing regulation now, the AI industry could see the same fate as areas like crypto and social media. An incident will happen, and then Congress will quickly pass legislation that regulates the industry in ways that could be overbearing or less thought out than if implemented proactively.
Proactive Regulatory Measures
“Some of the sort of smarter and more thoughtful actors that I’ve seen in this space are trying to say, ‘Okay, what are the pretty light touch, pretty common sense guardrails we can put in place now to make future crises less likely, less severe, and make it less likely that you end up with the need for some kind of rapid and poorly-thought-through response later,’” she said.
Importance of Industry Engagement
Toner said that regardless of how startups or VCs feel about potential AI regulation, they should be active in conversations about it. Companies of any size and stage should talk to folks in Washington and lobbyists about how their companies operate, what different regulations could look like, and how they would impact their businesses. Doing so allows them to have a hand in shaping rules that work for them.
Collaboration Over Conflict
“I think thinking of it as a productive collaboration between different people with different kinds of expertise, and bringing the expertise that you have, is valuable,” Toner said. “I think thinking of it as either something to kind of ignore or as sort of an adversarial fight where you have to be kind of trying to get the other side to do as little as possible will be less productive.”
Preparing for Future Regulations
Toner said smaller startups and entrepreneurs considering building in the AI space could also start prepping for potential regulation.
“[Companies should be] keeping track of what are you training; how are you training it? How are you testing it? What are you doing with your data? How are you updating it? Which models have you deployed, and which products are you using at which time?” she said. “The stories you hear from people who’ve been inside some of these respected companies are that they often don’t even have good records of which combination of models is running that particular product right now.”
The Road Ahead
But while Congress has held hearings on potential AI regulation, and Toner is confident it will eventually become law, she doesn’t think it will happen anytime soon, regardless of how this year’s election cycle shakes out.
Summary
“If I had to put money on it, I would probably put money on there not being enormous new changes at the federal level,” Toner said. “And then it’s just a question of what else might happen around the edges.”
