Editorial Board
America’s New AI Plan Is Great. There’s Just One Problem.
The White House has produced an ambitious proposal for winning the global artificial intelligence race. Congress should fix its main flaw.
That’s the spirit.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Wherever the artificial intelligence revolution ends up, the journey won’t be dull. In recent months, blockbuster deals, technical triumphs, competitive hostilities and increasingly fraught geopolitics have all roiled the industry.
As this race accelerates, it’s tempting to say that AI companies should be left alone to prosper. But public policy still has a role to play, both to maximize the technology’s benefits — social, economic, scientific — and to head off potential risks.