Introducing Our AI Policy Guide
A Digital Resource to Equip Policymakers for the AI Age
AI is confusing, AI is multi-faced, and AI is in flux. Most policymakers aren’t computer scientists and most don’t have the time to weed through ArXiv to find the latest and greatest developments. If AI is to remake society, this could be a major problem.
Yesterday the Mercatus web team and I debuted our new AI policy website - a guide that walks through core AI technologies, key concepts, and live policy challenges. This site should serve as a reference and a tool box, something readers can consult when they encounter a confusing term or just need to brush up on the basics before an important meeting. To support multiple needs, the site is divided into two “levels;” a Level 1 understanding for those looking for the basics, and a Level 2 understanding for those trying to springboard into AI policy.
Why Digital?
Keeping Pace and Keeping Trust
The web format is intentional. Leaning on PDF publishing, previous guides have been unable to keep pace. As soon as they are posted, they are already out of date.
Our guide is a living document; a tool we will keep updated to reflect AI’s constant technical churn and the emergence of new policy challenges. The goal is long term usability. Only through a web format can we ensure users trust the information is kept timely and accurate.
Accommodation
A core pillar of the AI Progress Project at the Mercatus Center is seeking an AI future that improves social pluralism. In part, that means accommodation. Digital tools like AI and this website can, and should, wield their unique ability to serve a greater plurality of people. It is my belief that previous guides have dissuaded a plurality of understanding through a one-size fits all text-based approach. Grappling with AI means getting everyone up to speed. Visual and interactive learners also need high quality resources.
While Version 1 of this site is text-based, our goal is to expand this resource. We plan to integrate video, interactive tools, and other resources to engage audiences and ease beginners who might be intimidate by the growing sea of text.
Just the Facts
This is a tool, not a polemic. The goal is to state the facts and leave it to users explore the right policy approach.
As I state in the guide, AI is a goal and that goal can take many forms. The same applies to the goals of AI policy. My goal isn’t to say what choices are ‘correct,’ what issues are ‘important,’ or how the AI future should look. I too am grappling with the seemingly sudden emergence of capable AI and do not claim to have all the answers. My hope is that this guide can serve a diversity of political persuasions and needs. AI is is going to touch everyone in some way, and a good starting point is broad based understanding.