Professionals in a meeting room with laptops and documents, American flag and portrait in background

AI Regulation: White House Discusses Classifying Math as State Secret

AI technology has massive potential. It also brings big risks. Recent talks with the White House focused on how to manage these risks.

Ben, an expert in the field, argues that regulating AI at the technology level is like regulating math. He thinks it makes no sense. The government can classify whole areas of math if they think they pose a danger. They did this before with nuclear physics. This means some research might disappear from public view.

Business executive meeting with focus on conference table and documents

Some people fear that classifying AI research could hurt progress. But imagine if an AI could break all encryption. It could unlock passwords and bank systems. If this research exists, it must be classified to stop it from falling into the wrong hands.

For example, a letter called "QAR" claimed an AI could decrypt the world's systems. If true, this would be a disaster. With that power, someone could cause major damage. Classifying such research would protect society from these risks.

The nationalization of AI labs might also happen. In the Cold War, physics research got classified for safety. The same could happen with AI. As the race to create super-intelligent AI heats up, national security will become a bigger concern. No startup can handle super-intelligent AI on its own.

Leopold Ashen, a former OpenAI employee, mentioned this in an interview. He worked on aligning superhuman AI systems. He believes that as the goal of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) gets closer, governments will step in.

The key takeaway is that AI holds great promise, but it also needs strong regulation. The debate on how best to regulate AI is ongoing. The goal is to balance innovation with safety. Experts suggest focusing on applications rather than broad technology. This approach aims to control risks while allowing AI to flourish.

Similar Posts