In general, the policy discussion around Artificial Intelligence (AI) underestimates the diversity and vulnerability of the AI startup ecosystem. The reality is often different than what policymakers think. Without understanding the startup ecosystem, the resulting policy could lead to unnecessary interventions into competitive markets that disrupt innovation in the free market. So what might policymakers need to better understand about the current state of the AI startup ecosystem? Policy analysis that focuses on the effects on industry leaders rather than on startups underestimates the damage done to AI development by harsher regulatory approaches, such as the Biden Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence. For example, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is set to impose auditing and content regulation on "all stages of the value chain." This means that instead of focusing narrowly on the areas where harms actually occur, the NTIA treats all AI developers as preemptively suspect.
- Published in
- United States of America
