SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- It’s on your phone, computer, even in your local drive-thru. AI is present in so many different aspects of our lives.
A recent MIT study suggests AI could be negatively impacting critical thinking skills. Goldman Sachs estimates that if AI is embraced globally, six to seven percent of American workers could be out of a job.
ABC57’s Jordan Tolbert contacted elected leaders representing Indiana and Michigan to ask if the government should regulate AI. She also spoke with William Thiesen, Ph.D., an assistant teaching professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Notre Dame, who teaches classes on the topic of AI.
Defining AI:
“I mean, I think that's a question that people have been trying to answer for a long time. The term was originally introduced in 1956 at a conference, actually at Dartmouth University. They introduced the idea of the field of artificial intelligence. And people have been trying to answer the question of what that field contains for the last 50 or 60 years, and I think this has really come to the forefront in maybe the last 10 to 12,” said Theisen. “Some people would say that AI is a very broad scope and contains things like robotics, self-driving cars, and not necessarily just the software systems that people think about when they think about ChatGPT or things like that. If you were to ask my students, they would say, some of the stuff we look at in class is not AI. But if you ask people that have been around for a longer time, a lot of that is AI, going back, you know, 60 years or so.”
Thiesen says AI is a double-edged sword, with both dangers and usefulness.
“I think you really need to think about how you're using these models, and maybe in some way, this leads to humans using less social media as it gets harder and harder to distinguish between what's real and what's fake,” said Thiesen.
He explains that AI is used in a multitude of fields, naming examples like programming, consulting, and finance.
“There's a lot of chatter now about whether we're in a bubble or not. But what I do know is I use these models every day. They've sort of fundamentally changed how I've done my job, and that's true for a lot of people I talk to. So, I think it continues to grow and expand, and the models continue to improve as well,” said Theisen.
ABC57’s Jordan Tolbert reached out to state leaders and U.S. Representatives and Senators representing Michiana to see if they think AI should be regulated, and how. She interviewed Governor Mike Braun (R) Indiana, Rep. Tim Walberg (R) Michigan 5th District, and Sen. Todd Young (R) Indiana.
Governor Mike Braun came to ABC57’s studio and discussed the topic with ABC57’s Jordan Tolbert, and asked the governor if he thinks AI should be regulated.
“It's already being woven in in so many ways that are going to probably just be mostly for efficiency, kind of innocuous, but in the long run, there's concern, of course, that it could be used for other reasons, and the fact that they're driving so hard to outpace us in China gives me a little pause. So, I think sooner or later, yes, maybe even federally, and probably more so state by state, because it's easier to get stuff done,” said Braun.
He explained what AI regulation looks like on the state level.
“I think the regulation part of it will evolve. If there's no red flag, it's going to be just to make sure, it could be very little regulation. And if you try to regulate it too much, you could smother the industry from seeing its full potential,” said Braun.
Congressman Tim Walberg shared his opinion on whether AI should be regulated.
“There has to be some regulation to make sure that we don't have fraudulent use of AI, criminal use of AI in certain cases. So there has to be some, but it needs to be done in such a way that it's across the board, and as I said, initially, a light touch,” said Walberg.
He goes on to explain the AI race between China and America.
“China cannot be the country that succeeds in controlling what AI becomes across the world, and they're capable of doing that. They're a nation that is willing to control what takes place. It doesn't help their citizens, but it can help their efforts around the world. It should be America that establishes that case. The many good things that could happen as a result of AI and have happened already, need to be encouraged. So I would say, yes, there needs to be certain limited regulation to make sure that everybody plays in the sandbox in a fair way, but in done in such a way that does not restrict innovation that will go on, and as long as we have a human touch on it that's crucial, and specifically A moral human touch, I think we'll do just fine,” said Walberg.
Walberg says right now, he thinks establishing different rules for AI state-by state could create issues for smaller businesses or innovators.
“I think right now, we have a patchwork of state AI laws that are in place and regulations, and it makes it difficult, and it will be increasingly difficult if we just enable and allow 50 states to establish disparate patterns for the AI systems that will be in their state, because that is impact upon businesses that will do interstate development, and it becomes something that is unmanageable,” said Walberg.
He said that there needs to be oversight from the federal government when it comes to a system that will be used nationwide and globally.
“I think we believe in federalism. We believe that states ought to have the priority, but in something as large as the internet and ai, I think there's something to be said about having a playing field that is general and the same for all entities who will play on that playing field,” said Walberg.
ABC57’s Jordan Tolbert asked Congressman Walberg if he thinks any specific industries using AI should be regulated.
“I think they all should have some regulation. The question that we've been discussing is how much, and I think it ought to be limited, but certainly criminal entities that use AI, when you're using that to image and likeness capabilities, where you can make fraudulent statements or perceptions about individuals by putting their image and likeness in a platform that they have not been involved with or given permission. I think we have to watch that. I certainly think we need to have some specific regulations, and I think that's where the feds can come in, dealing with minors who will be very susceptible to AI usages that aren't legal and appropriate for age groups as well,” said Walberg. “That's what's necessary also in the whole social media platform space, making sure that we allow a greater amount of freedom for adults who can make decisions, but for minors, that's a concern base that we have to watch with AI.”
Senator Todd Young also points out that AI regulation should be on a national level when asked if he thinks AI should be regulated.
“Yes, I do, what I'm hearing from the development community, from venture capitalists, and from the user community, is that we absolutely need to establish a floor of regulation on a national basis so that we don't have state-level patchwork regulatory schemes that make selling into the us market incredibly confusing,” said Young.
In terms of potential risks associated with the technology, Young believes existing law covers most of that.
“We have a whole body of privacy law that's been developed through courts and their legal precedents as well as statutes over a number of years. We have civil rights laws, we have labor laws, we have consumer protection laws. So that doesn't leave a whole lot of gaps in which there will have to be regulation, but there will be some gaps —there are with every technology, and that's what the role of our executive agencies here in Washington, partnering with members of congress, is to identify those and where necessary to rethink existing bodies of law," said Young.
He explained what that process looks like in addressing those gaps to create law.
“Well, historically, that means Congress holding committee hearings and soliciting from the public their thoughts. You know, what sort of privacy contingencies were not considered by the previous generation of members of Congress and Americans that have arisen on account of this new AI age. So maybe it's parental controls, maybe it's something else that we decide to include in the law to protect young people or to protect people against fraud. So these are the types of gaps that will need to be filled, and I would prefer to go through the traditional committee process, because that's designed to keep the American people deeply involved and ensure that you don't have vested interests, creating too much of a new regulatory structure that will bog us down and injure certain parties,” said Young.
ABC57 reached out to multiple lawmakers representing Michiana on the national and state levels for interviews. Below are links to some AI-related work from additional elected officials.