"If AI didn’t offer such massive opportunities... we’d likely regulate it out of existence." On the latest episode of the Executive Summary, professor Dan Trefler explores the double-edged sword of artificial intelligence: Are the risks worth the rewards? Is bureaucratic red tape the solution — or just another hurdle? And how can the average citizen help fight the "great regulatory" battle? 

Show notes:

[0:00 ] In 2023, tech leaders and academics signed a letter agreeing to hold off on future AI development until government regulation caught up…spoiler alert: it didn’t. 

[0:48 ] Five years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine where AI development was going to be today…what will we see in the next five years? 

[1:36 ] Meet Dan Trefler, a professor of economics and policy at the Rotman School of Management. 

[2:29 ] Regulating “Artificial Intelligence” is impossible. 

[3:50 ] What’s the 2025 state of affairs when it comes to regulating uses of AI? 

[4:29 ] Dan sees one region of the world regulating the tech use about as well as they can. 

[7:12 ] What is the competition problem? 

[7:48 ] What is the coordination problem? 

[8:29 ] What happens when we have competition and coordination working together seamlessly? 

[9:46 ] So why can’t AI regulations follow the same successful model as car regulations? 

[10:19 ] What’s the interpretability problem? 

[11:18 ] California’s failed attempt at regulating AI companies is the perfect microcosm of the challenges we face. 

[12:45 ] Where is the last place governments should regulate? 

[13:49 ] To get a handle on things now, Dan wants us to focus on (1) extreme risks; 

[14:28 ] (2) learning from other successful regulatory bodies like the FDA;

[14:49 ] and (3) exploring regulatory incentives that encourage positive uses of the technology.

[15:33 ] And citizens can help wage the great AI regulatory battle with their own personal choices. 

[16:03 ] “I'm asking people to be much more forward looking than we normally tend to be. I want them to start anticipating risks which don't exist yet, because when they do come, as we've seen with past changes in AI, they will come in such a flurry that we won't be able to shovel our way out of our own homes. So let's start thinking hard about regulating things on a precautionary principle, not because they've happened, but because they might happen.”