The rapid development of new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has outpaced the ability of regulators in most parts of the world to put rules in place that govern their use. Without regulation of AI, its benefits are likely to flow to the few, while the many risks it poses and the harms it has already wrought will be borne by society, and disproportionately so by already vulnerable communities. Many of AI’s problems are inherently global, which means that if regulation takes place in a loose patchwork, solutions will be evasive: certain AI products, services, practices or tools outlawed in one part of the world may still be available through companies located in other jurisdictions.
David Evan Harris and Anamitra Deb argue that in the context of the urgent need for truly meaningful regulation of AI, philanthropy has an opportunity to quickly leverage its stores of uniquely public-interest-bound “risk capital” to create the Interim International AI Institution. While numerous efforts are under way to start conversations and study what a possible international or intergovernmental AI governance body might look like, this proposal suggests simply putting forth the funding and prototyping the organization by beginning the work today.
The critically important work of this institution would include coordinating conversations among governments around the world that are now developing potentially incompatible AI governance regulations in parallel; establishing best practices and norms for AI governance; bringing together a critical mass of technical, legal, policy and social science expertise; and transparently sharing the fruits of its rapid and iterative AI governance prototyping efforts.
