This project was supervised by TGT’s Aaron Scher, but the work was primarily carried out by Alex Mark, a Fellow with the Cambridge Boston Alignment Initiative who is not a MIRI employee. Because it is a mentored project outside TGT’s realm of expertise, and it focuses on a complex topic, the analysis serves as a starting point for future work, rather than the final word on this topic.
Abstract:
As AI advances, governing its development may become paramount to public safety. Lawmakers may seek to restrict the development and release of AI models or of AI research itself. These governance actions could trigger legal challenges that invalidate the actions, so lawmakers should consider these challenges ahead of time. We investigate three classes of potential litigation risk for AI regulation in the U.S.: the First Amendment, administrative law, and the Fourteenth Amendment. We discuss existing precedent that is likely to apply to AI, which legal challenges are likely to arise, and how lawmakers might preemptively address them. Effective AI regulation is possible, but it requires careful implementation to avoid these legal challenges.