I have no clue why the biggest companies and their billionaire founders/shareholders are looking for government regulation of AI or what regulation they want to see. But here is what might be an instructive parable (although it's a true story): In the 1960s, a major customer of a family-owned textile company for seat coverings were the airlines. DuPont (a big company) pressed for government regulation to require that airplane seat coverings not burst into flame on the plane. No such seats' bursting into flame had killed or serious hurt any passenger. The only company (by patent) that made non-flammable seat covering material was DuPont, and it got a regulation through requiring that seats be non-flammable. Just one thing: When heated even without being exposed to flame, DuPont's material would disperse highly toxic gas that would kill passengers and crew quickly before any flames might hurt them. The family-owned company almost went out of business as a result of that "patent protecting regulation." Am I saying that the big AI companies have a nefarious purpose here? I have no idea that's the case. What I am saying is I don't believe any of the lay commentators or politicians have a clue what the problem is much less what the solution is or what regulation would be appropriate or needed. But, where, as here, it's Elon Musk and his ilk pushing the need-for-regulation to protect me and the rest of human-kind, well, I might not be as comforted as others might be.
[EOP]
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