#ai-policy

#ai-policy

Picture this: You ask an AI to show you images of judges, and it depicts only 3 percent as women - even though 34 percent of federal judges are women. Or imagine an AI that's more likely to recommend harsh criminal sentences for people who use expressions rooted in Black vernacular cultures. Now imagine that same AI instructed to ignore climate impacts or treating Russian propaganda as credible information.

In July, the government published its " Winning The Race: America's AI Action Plan," framing artificial intelligence as the next monumental leap in human progress. The rhetoric is sweeping: AI will deliver "an Industrial Revolution, an information revolution, and a renaissance-all at once." It promises to revolutionize materials science, medicine, energy, education, and even the decoding of ancient texts. The vision is not just about new tools-it's about unlocking "a golden age of human flourishing", securing U.S. economic dominance, and protecting national security.

Midterm watch... The Wall Street Journal reported that Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI's Greg Brockman are among those who've helped launch a new super PAC network, called Leading the Future. The focus, of course, is AI. Ultimately, this isn't a surprise-on one hand, the $100 million already mobilized to shape AI policy and regulation feels like a lot, but that number absolutely dwarfs the billions a16z manages and that OpenAI has raised.

"As the organization grows, we are unionizing across newsrooms and teams to ensure our mission and vision align with employees' realities," the Signal Ohio News Workers Guild wrote in a statement signed by 15 union-eligible staffers. The journalists said their priorities for unionization include "transparent, equitable and sustainable pay," including cost-of-living raises; hiring practices that reflect Signal's "founding ethos of being accountable to our communities"; professional development; and a say in newsroom policies, including the use of artificial intelligence.

Over 80% of Middlebury College students use generative AI for coursework, according to a recent survey I conducted with my colleague and fellow economist Zara Contractor. This is one of the fastest technology adoption rates on record, far outpacing the 40% adoption rate among U.S. adults, and it happened in less than two years after ChatGPT's public launch. Although we surveyed only one college, our results align with similar studies, providing an emerging picture of the technology's use in higher education.

Anthropic has updated the usage policy for its Claude AI chatbot to include a ban on developing biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear weapons, amidst safety concerns.

"You can't be expected to have a successful AI program when every single article, book or anything else that you've read or studied, you're supposed to pay for."

Anthropic now permits job applicants to utilize AI for enhancing their submissions, aiming to balance AI proficiency with authentic human skill evaluation. Candidates can collaborate with AI to refine résumés, cover letters, and interview preparations.

AI should support artists, not replace them. We're making a formal commitment that any use of AI on SoundCloud will be based on consent, transparency, and artist control.

The Trump Administration will pursue a bold, inclusive strategy to American AI technology with trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out of the hands of our adversaries.