AI and the Law

Chapter 1. Trust Deficit

Imagine drones that continue to manufacture and pile up designer sneakers in a world devoid of mankind because the manufacturing has made the planet uninhabitable. The drones can be stopped only by a programmer who is smart enough to build herself a backdoor into this dystopian world. This type of scenario of how unregulated artificial intelligence (AI) can control us is portrayed by the entertainment industry in such a way that we think of it as in the distant future. What we don’t realize is that we are soaking in it now in our everyday lives; AI algorithms can influence everything from your circle of friends to your political beliefs to where you will go on vacation next summer.

Some fears, such as that artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs, are well-founded. In our present world, AI could create new jobs—but what kind, and for how long? These are questions that we need to ask now; we also need to know how human involvement will be enforced.

I asked Anne T. Griffin, independent speaker on AI and Blockchain, chief product and curriculum officer for Tech2025, and product manager, what we can do to keep AI under control. Anne said, “Tech companies have to want to change. Otherwise, they will create dark problems upon which they will profit. While some companies will recognize this and back away, others will create technical ecosystems so unsustainable that it will drive them out of business.”

Anne continued, “Most successful companies only last ...