Artificial intelligence is only as ethical as the people who use it

Artificial intelligence is revolutionary, but it’s not without its controversies. Many hail it as a chance for a fundamental upgrade to human civilization. Some believe it can take us down a dangerous path, potentially arming governments with dangerous Orwellian surveillance and mass control capabilities.

We have to remember that any technology is only as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ as the people who use it. Consider the EU’s hailed ‘blueprint for AI regulation’ and China’s proposed crackdown on AI development; these instances seek to regulate AI as if it were already an autonomous, conscious technology. It isn’t. The U.S. must think wisely before following in their footsteps and consider addressing the actions of the user behind the AI.

In theory, the EU’s proposed regulation offers reasonable guidelines for the safe and equitable development of AI. In practice, these regulations may well starve the world of groundbreaking developments, such as in industry productivity or healthcare and climate change mitigation — areas that desperately need to be addressed.