CENTER FOR DATA INNOVATION 1
Tech Panics, Generative AI, and the
Need for Regulatory Caution
By Patrick Grady and Daniel Castro | May 1, 2023
Generative artificial intelligence (AI)—AI systems that
produce novel text, images, and music from simple user
prompts—has important applications in many fields,
including entertainment, education, health care, and
retail. However, exaggerated and misleading concerns
about the tool’s potential to cause harm have crowded
out reasonable discussion about the technology,
generating a familiar, yet unfortunate, “tech panic.” Until
the hysteria dissipates, policymakers should hit pause on
any new legislation or regulations directly targeting
generative AI.
INTRODUCTION
Significant technological changes inevitably disrupt the economy and
society, and the potential for major change induces both inflated fears and
expectations. Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI)—a branch
of computer science that studies computer systems that perform
operations previously requiring human intelligence—have heightened
imaginations about what the future holds. AI doomsayers predict job
destruction, declining human intelligence, loss of privacy, algorithmic
manipulation, and, sometimes, the end of humanity.
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Fears about AI have reached new levels because of the emergence of
generative AI. Generative AI—a novel tool that can produce complex text,
images, and videos from simple inputs—promises to democratize the
creative sector and enable entirely new forms of creativity. This novelty has
impressed technology enthusiasts but alarmed many others—especially
those who believe AI is encroaching on creativity, which many people
believe to be an essential difference that separates humans from
machines.
