Smart regulation, if “done properly,” could actually speed up artificial intelligence development rather than slow it down, according to Microsoft’s chief scientist – a surprising stance that challenges the current push for AI deregulation in Washington.
Dr Eric Horvitz, who previously advised President Biden on technology matters, told fellow scientists last week that they need to speak up and explain to government officials how proper oversight could accelerate AI progress rather than hinder it.
His comments come as the Trump administration proposes a sweeping 10-year ban preventing US states from creating any laws that would limit or regulate AI models, AI systems, or automated decision-making tools.
“It’s up to us as scientists to communicate to government agencies, especially those right now who might be making statements about ‘no regulation, this is going to hold us back,'” Horvitz said at a meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. “Guidance, regulation, reliability, controls are part of advancing the field, making the field go faster, in many ways.”
JD Vance vs. Microsoft: A Clash Over AI’s Future
Vice President JD Vance echoed these concerns, warning that if America pauses AI development while China continues full speed ahead, the US could find itself “enslaved to China-mediated AI.”
However the Microsoft chief scientist warned against getting caught up in political slogans about regulation being bad for innovation. “We need to be very cautious about jargon and terms like regulation or bumper stickers that say no regulation because it’s going to slow us down. It can speed us up done properly.”
His stance creates an interesting contradiction, given that Microsoft is reportedly part of a Silicon Valley lobbying effort alongside Google, Meta, and Amazon to support the state-level regulation ban. According to the Financial Times, these tech giants are urging the Senate to approve the decade-long moratorium, which Trump wants passed by July 4th.
Speaking at a meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence on Monday, he emphasized that scientists need to communicate with government agencies about why completely avoiding regulation would be counterproductive.
“Guidance, regulation… reliability controls are part of advancing the field, making the field go faster in many ways,” Horvitz explained.
His position creates an interesting contradiction, considering reports that Microsoft is actually part of a Silicon Valley lobbying effort alongside Google, Meta, and Amazon to support Trump’s state regulation ban.
According to the Financial Times, Microsoft is joining a lobbying push urging the US Senate to approve the decade-long moratorium on state-level AI legislation. This ban is included in Trump’s budget bill, which he wants passed by Independence Day on July 4th.
The debate reflects growing concerns about unregulated AI development and its potential catastrophic risks to humanity. Some critics worry that companies are prioritizing short-term profits over safety considerations.
Congress, States, and the Future of AI Regulation
Stuart Russell, a computer science professor at UC Berkeley who spoke at the same seminar as Horvitz, raised even more alarming questions. “Why would we deliberately allow the release of a technology which even its creators say has a 10% to 30% chance of causing human extinction?” he asked. “We would never accept anything close to that level of risk for any other technology.”
The stakes in this debate are enormous. Microsoft has invested $14 billion in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman recently made bold predictions about the future, suggesting that within five to ten years, we’ll see “great human robots” walking down streets performing various tasks.
Predictions about when we’ll achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI) – AI that matches human-level intelligence – vary dramatically. While Meta’s chief scientist Yann LeCun suggests AGI could be decades away, his boss Mark Zuckerberg just announced a $15 billion investment aimed at achieving “superintelligence.”
Microsoft’s corporate vice president Fred Humphries defended the company’s lobbying position, arguing for federal coordination rather than a patchwork of state laws. “We cannot afford to wake up to a future where 50 different states have enacted 50 conflicting approaches to AI safety and security,” he said.
