To Regulate AI Or Not To Regulate AI. That Is The Question.

addresses reporters. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A little-watched event – with a short-lived news cycle – may well be an indication of something extremely large: unimaginably large, in fact, with potentially far-reaching and immeasurable consequences.

Or, if we’re prepared to deal with it immediately, maybe not quite. But that would be by the skin of our teeth.

On January 21, barely three weeks ago, numerous New Hampshire residents received robocalls that appeared to be the voice of President Joseph Biden encouraging them not to vote in the New Hampshire presidential primary election on January 23. That’s right: not to vote. Further, the robocalls illegally spoofed their caller ID to appear to come from a phone number belonging to a former New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair. This whole drama was announced by New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella, who added that, upon launching an investigation with state and federal partners. his Office Election Law Unit has identified the source of the robocalls: Texas-based Life Corporation and an individual named Walter Monk. That wasn’t the extent of the shenanigans, but you get the idea.

“Ensuring public confidence in the electoral process is vital. AI-generated recordings used to deceive voters have the potential to have devastating effects on the democratic election process,” said Attorney General Formella.

Is the AI horse already out of the barn?

All 50 state attorneys general’s offices plus the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau are united on this, along with YouMail, Nomorobo, and Industry Traceback Group, in an efficient and effective example of collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Their value statement is not debatable. What might be is whether it is already too late to stop what, to many, is an irresistible force. And their swift work was admirable. But was it swift enough? Is our overall collective response enough?

The good guys vs. the bad guys – again

With any and every invention or discovery ever made – from the first, stone tools, through AI and beyond – we humans have always figured out the positive, constructive ways to use them and the negative, destructive ways as well. That will never change, always ensuring the good-vs-evil scenario.

The difference with AI is the enormity and the potency of it; nothing ever was as big as AI will be, nor as existentially threatening to us as an out-of-control AI has already demonstrated it can be.

Why New Hampshire? Why now?

It’s still eight months until election day. New Hampshire’s primary voter turnout of roughly 300,000 is lower than o.2% of expected national turnout in November. The state’s four electoral college votes are only 0.7% of the whole kit and kaboodle. So why is this such a big deal?

Looks like Marketing 101

Did you ever participate in a marketing focus group? Long before a product ever hits the store’s shelves, it goes through extensive exposure to and evaluation by small groups of consumers. Product launches are not guesswork. There’s too much at stake; they’re the results of tests and trials.

That’s what this looks like to me, and if I’m right, the possibilities are frightening: eight months to evaluate results, make improvements, bring in more nefarious players, and ultimately roll out a fearsome force on z much larger scale. Don’t think it can’t happen; it probably already is – and New Hampshire seems to be the test market. I think the bad guys are preparing for a big product launch.

To Regulate AI or Not to Regulate AI

The bad guys are always the first, the fastest, and the nimblest in this contest. While the good guys are busy playing by the rules – democracies, free markets, and transparency – the bad guys are not. And guess which players can move more quickly, anywhere they want to go? They can, as the old saying goes, stop on a dime and give you nine cents change.

Can we or can’t we regulate AI?

It’s easy to dismiss the idea of trying to regulate AI as naïve and impossible, a fool’s errand. Maybe, for the time being. But here’s the big question. What will happen if we don’t even try?

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With 50 years’ experience in diversified international business, I am a well-established, prolific journalist, having authored nearly 2,000 articles on job market, workplace, and leadership issues since 2003. I founded my executive career coaching practice, Amdur Coaching and Advisory Group in 1997, serving thousands of individual and corporate clients across 25 industries in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. I have worked for two global office electronics giants, held a directorship in a French-led global affiliate network, and began two start-ups. At Fairleigh Dickinson University I taught leadership courses (MBA, MAS) for 15 years, was Executive-in-Residence in the Center for Healthcare Management Studies, and co-founded the Institute for Life Sciences Leadership.