Why Politicians Can’t be Trusted Regulating AI

Just how intelligent are politicians? Sadly, the answer can possibly be summed up in one word. Smartphones! That thing most of us, including politicians, carry in our hands and pockets virtually 24/7.

For politicians, those phones can be a career killer. News stories about offensive and ill-advised text messages have blown up the careers of Republicans and Democrats, alike. Remember the inadvertent inclusion of a journalist on a Signal chat where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other leaders, discussed military strikes? Let’s just say it wasn’t good.

For reporters, politician’s smartphone behavior is like being a fly on the wall seeking insight into those who look to lead us. Many of us think our messages are private; they are not. As I have reported numerous times in my former podcast life, everything you do online, or over a cellular network, is recorded and stored... somewhere! They aren’t building data centers just for AI.

Paul Ingrassia, President Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Special Counsel, withdrew his name from consideration following a Politico report. In a text chain he stated he had a “Nazi streak” and believed the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. should be tossed into hell. Not something you want to say in print, which has no layer of seriousness, cynicism, or joking set as a default.

Politico also exposed a Telegram chat group of young Republican group leaders who were involved in casual racist and violent talk. Seven people lost jobs due to the story.

Texting has become an everyday, normal means of communication. Personal texts are considered one of the few remaining bastions of authenticity, where people often share their true thoughts because they think they aren’t public. Rules of socializing that people hide behind when talking face-to-face are often missing when online or in an app. It seems like people don’t understand that they’re communicating on a medium where conversations can be saved on screen shots. Even worse, it seems that politicians, who should know, don’t.

Sadly, the situation gets even worse than political careers being destroyed by thoughtless, ill-conceived digital comments. The real serious situation is this: politicians who lack the simple knowledge that all things digital are recorded and stored in perpetuity, are the same politicians that will be making rules and regulations about AI… which is far more complex and harder to understand.

As an advocate for privacy, I’m somewhat tech savvy. However, I don’t even pretend to present myself as an AI guru. From what I do know, right now there’s as much potential for harm as there is for good. AI has reportedly instructed youth how to slash their wrists and to put glue on their pizza to get the cheese to stick to the crust. If politicians can’t understand something as simple as text privacy (or actual lack of it), why should anyone trust them regulating the safe use of AI in our children’s lives?

Source used: Associated Press