In the U.S., the Republicans have released their 2024 platform, and it promises to repeal the Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence signed by President Biden in October 2023.
A poll at the time from the AI Policy Institute showed that 64% of Republican voters supported the executive order, along with 79% of Democrats.
The most extensive piece of AI regulation in the country, the order contained many actions relevant to mitigating the existential risk from artificial intelligence; it requires the companies training the most powerful models to share their safety data with the government, orders the establishment of new regulatory bodies to safeguard against AI risk, and expands the scope of existing ones.
In a section titled ‘Build The Greatest Economy in History’ of the Republican manifesto, a paragraph on artificial intelligence reads as follows:
We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology. In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing.
More polling from the AI Policy Institute this week revealed Democrats and Republicans to be united in their desire (both at 75%) to take a ‘careful controlled approach’ to AI development. The average American is fine with hindering AI innovation if that hindrance decreases the chances of the deployment of powerful systems that are not aligned with human values.
The stakes could not be higher. The average AI researcher believes there is a 14% chance of ‘extremely bad (e.g. human extinction)’ outcomes as a result of artificial general intelligence.
In April, a group of senators including former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Democrat Jack Reed proposed a framework to mitigate the extreme risks of AI, proving that the two parties can come together on this issue that worries voters from both sides.
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