The Perils & Promises of Artificial General Intelligence

Abstract

Artificial General Intelligence (“AGI”) - an Artificial Intelligence ("AI") capable of achieving any goal - is the greatest existential threat humanity faces. Indeed, the questions surrounding the regulation of AGI are the most important the millennial generation will answer. The capabilities of current AI systems are evolving at accelerating rates. Yet, legislators and scholars have yet to address or identify critical issues relating to AI regulation. Instead, legislators and scholars have focused narrowly on short term AI policy.

This paper takes a contrarian approach to analyzing AI regulation with a specific emphasis on deep reinforcement learning systems, a relatively recent breakthrough in AI technology. Additionally, this paper identifies three important regulatory issues legislators and scholars need to address in the context of AI development. AI and legal scholars have made the demanding need for an AI regulatory system clear. However, those arguments focus on the regulation of current AI systems and generally ignore or dismiss the possibility of AGI. Further, previous scholarship has yet to grapple specifically with the regulation of deep reinforcement learning systems, which many AI scholars argue provides a direct path to AGI. Ultimately, legislators must consider and address the perils and promises of AGI when developing and evolving AI regulatory frameworks.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Law, Machine Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Neural Networks, Policy, Technology

JEL Classification: K10