Will AI Regulation Stifle Progress?

AI is at it again. It is dominating the headlines once more. Just over a year ago, we were in the same spot when everything we talked about was ChatGPT and the way it might have taken all our jobs in a matter of days.

Today, we worry not because of AI but for it. All because world leaders are starting to take more steps to regulate it. The EU AI Act is a perfect example of the process. The Act is a set of “rules [that] establish obligations for providers and users depending on the level of risk from artificial intelligence.”

The US took its own steps. The US President signed an AI order “requiring agencies and the tech industry to quickly develop safety and security rules.”

As a CEO and Managing Partner of a company that utilizes AI to enhance our customer support services, regulation is something I worry about because it has all the chances of stifling progress. Or does it?

World leaders clearly view AI as something that can harm people and be a real security hazard. Is it really so, and can regulating AI harm the tech industry?

YES: It will become safer

The main concern and reason for regulating the technology right now is the fact that AI is seeping into our lives more. Virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa, some order recommendation systems on e-commerce platforms and algorithms on TikTok and YouTube, and, of course, chatbots — all of them are AI-powered. The more we interact with AI, the more information about us it can gather, which means more personal, sensitive, or even confidential data are at risk of leaking.

The more regulation we put on AI, the safer our data will be. This can make us more comfortable in communicating with it, which will provide an additional push for its future development.

Benefits of safer AI: personalized content offers, social media algorithms, automatic data processing, and even data science will become more discrete and trustworthy (more on this later on). If regulations can make it happen, maybe it’s something we have to embrace.

NO: It will stop developing freely.

Imagine a tree that grows in a forest. It is beautiful in its natural state. Once we start pruning its branches and cutting its leaves, it will lose the freedom to grow as it was meant to.

It is the same with AI. Once we start regulating it and its development, the room for its growth will be limited and slowed down.

Can humanity afford this? On one hand, sure — we need time to adapt to any new thing that comes along. On the other hand, the faster AI is allowed to develop, the more areas of our lives can be perfected by it. As a professional who is working with AI, the latter seems more important to me.

Benefits of restrained AI development: I can’t imagine an industry that will see any perks of muted development. On the contrary, communication, generative technologies, software development, and anything that requires creativity and depends on progress can be damaged by regulations.

YES: It will be more ethical

The ethics of AI have been a topic of discussion ever since it was first introduced. Today, we know AI can discriminate against certain ethnicities, genders, and even ages. This is not what we want from any technology… ever.

The more regulations are brought into the light and universally observed, the more ethical and trustworthy AI will become. As a result, we will feel more comfortable while interacting with it.

Benefits of ethical AI: medical and financial institutions or any other businesses that deal with sensitive information and rely on AI’s ‘judgment’ will feel more comfortable if AI and its use are regulated.

NO: It will restrain innovation.

One thing we have to understand about AI is that it is not a living, breathing organism with a mind of its own. It is merely a tool that can help people be more professional. And it just so happens that AI is now playing a leading role in innovation.

The fact that regulating it can damage the process is one of the key arguments of those opposing putting more control on the technology. There is also the argument that the countries that will put any regulatory measure on AI will fall behind those that refuse to do so, and their competitive edge will falter or disappear.

Benefits of slower innovation: is this even a thing? Now that I think about it, no area can benefit from slower progress. As I have already said — we need to innovate fast. Otherwise, we risk falling behind and not surviving in the business world of the future.

YES: It will make everyone’s possibilities equal

A big tech company that can develop its technologies in-house and without any obstructions and regulations is almost certain to occupy a large part of the market if not all of it. This is how monopolies start. And we know for sure — monopolies are the enemy of improvement.

Making everyone’s conditions similar will give everyone an equal chance at success, pushing the competition and the market further. Regulating AI may be just the thing the market needs in this regard.

Benefits of equal possibilities: startups and new businesses that are looking not only for mentors and investors but for good development conditions and opportunities as well could see more rapid growth and, as a result, any market (along with the economy itself) will develop faster.

NO: It will make AI implementation harder.

Like with everything in this world — the more steps we have to take to do something, the less likely it is to get started at all. The more clicks we have to make to purchase something online, the more likely we are to abandon our cart and move on.

The more regulations we will have to go through to start working with AI, the less we are going to do so. Implementation will become harder and will slow down. Considering how much time it takes people to come to terms with any changes and innovations, this can be a damning thing for the technology.

Benefits of harder AI implementation: Just like with a slow implementation rate, there are no businesses that will see any benefits from having to take more steps in implementing AI into their processes.

AI regulation is a tightrope. We probably can’t leave it unchecked for much longer. Although, as tech professionals, we need to understand what we can regulate and at what pace so the changes do not hurt the progress.