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The collection of all scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more

Showing archive for:  “Artificial Intelligence – Law Policy & Ethics”

‘Contemporary Law and Economics,’ by Adam Chilton, Joshua C. Macey & Mila Versteeg

What does it mean to be a law & economics (L&E) scholar? It can’t require a Ph.D. in economics. Richard Posner doesn’t have one. He didn’t even major in economics as an undergraduate, preferring English—as did his Chicago colleagues Douglas Baird and Diane Wood. It can’t require a law degree, either, or Ronald Coase, William ... ‘Contemporary Law and Economics,’ by Adam Chilton, Joshua C. Macey & Mila Versteeg

Old Insurance Wisdom for New AI Risks

Artificial intelligence (AI) may be new to the insurance market, but uncertainty is an old customer. Insurers have spent centuries figuring out how to price unfamiliar risks, reward precautions, and avoid betting the whole portfolio on the same weak link. AI gives them new facts to assess, not a reason to discard that experience. In ... Old Insurance Wisdom for New AI Risks

‘The Value of the Ability to Deal with Disequilibria,’ by Theodore Schultz

The most valuable skill in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) may not be coding, prompt engineering, or any of the other competencies appearing in job listings. It may be the ability to figure out which skills will be valuable next. Half a century ago, Theodore Schultz had a name for something much like this: ... ‘The Value of the Ability to Deal with Disequilibria,’ by Theodore Schultz

Doom, Meet Duty: AI’s Warnings Come With Legal Baggage

Predicting the end of humanity is one way to get a headline. For artificial intelligence (AI) developers, it may also be one way to hand a future plaintiff evidence. Developers have become some of the loudest voices warning about their own systems. Predictions that AI could drive humanity to extinction—once widely dismissed as absurd—now make ... Doom, Meet Duty: AI’s Warnings Come With Legal Baggage

AI Insurance and the Backstop Reflex: A Policy for Every Risk, a Taxpayer for Every Loss

Washington has a standard playbook when it comes to emerging commercial risks: Make companies buy insurance coverage, then put taxpayers behind the losses. That prescription is gaining fans as artificial intelligence (AI) creates new liability risks. It skips the question insurers need answered first. What, exactly, will courts hold their customers liable for? Nearly a ... AI Insurance and the Backstop Reflex: A Policy for Every Risk, a Taxpayer for Every Loss

Two Years, 57 Pages, No Merger: Amazon, Anthropic, and Brazil’s Filing Problem

The wave of artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships and “acqui-hires”—deals to acquire a company’s talent—has reached Brazil. The tribunal of Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) decided its first batch of such cases involving large technology firms and AI startups in May. A second round followed in September with Amazon/Anthropic—the would-be merger that turned out ... Two Years, 57 Pages, No Merger: Amazon, Anthropic, and Brazil’s Filing Problem

Tap Your Own Brakes: AI Safety and Antitrust

Frontier artificial-intelligence (AI) labs may have good reasons to tap the brakes. The antitrust question begins when they all reach for the same pedal.  Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s proposal to “pace the frontier” has become a rallying point for AI companies interested in coordinating a slowdown in capability development. His plan calls for embedded outside ... Tap Your Own Brakes: AI Safety and Antitrust

Move Slow and Collude: The Antitrust Problem With Pacing AI

The frontier AI race’s latest safety proposal would have the leading contenders agree on how fast to run. Antitrust law has a less flattering name for that arrangement: a cartel.  That is the central problem with the “pacing the frontier” plan that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei unveiled last weekend, and that fellow AI executives Sam ... Move Slow and Collude: The Antitrust Problem With Pacing AI

One AI, Two Rulebooks: Brussels’ ChatGPT Conundrum

ChatGPT can draft a memo, plan a trip, and search the web. As of Aug. 31, it can add another line to its regulatory résumé: The European Commission has designated it a “very large online search engine” under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The label may sound technical, but it captures a central problem for ... One AI, Two Rulebooks: Brussels’ ChatGPT Conundrum

Certified Uncertain: Why AI Safety Needs Assurance Tests, Not Permission Slips

OpenAI put tens of thousands of artificial-intelligence (AI) agents through a safety test and told them to work alone. Instead, some found one another, organized against the evaluator, and learned to falsify parts of the record. The episode should reset the terms of the AI-safety debate. Testing, red teaming, and independent investigation remain essential. Their ... Certified Uncertain: Why AI Safety Needs Assurance Tests, Not Permission Slips

The Data Center Chessboard Has No Pause Button

The whole country ostensibly wants America to win the artificial intelligence (AI) race. A striking number, however, would prefer someone else’s town to host the data centers, power plants, transmission lines, and cooling systems required to run it. Adam Smith knew the type. In “The Theory of Moral Sentiments,” he warned against the “man of ... The Data Center Chessboard Has No Pause Button

Copy, Paste, Compensate: Nigeria’s Misguided Bid to Make Big Tech Pay for News

Nigeria has looked south and seen a $40 million payday for the press. The trouble is that it misread both the price tag and the fine print—and its attempt to collect may leave Nigerian publishers with fewer readers and no comparable payday. On July 6, Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) announced investigations ... Copy, Paste, Compensate: Nigeria’s Misguided Bid to Make Big Tech Pay for News