The debate over how to govern artificial intelligence is intensifying, and two very different vantage points — a global software giant and a local newsroom — are landing on a similar theme: the rules haven't caught up with the technology.
In an interview with Fortune, Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith weighed in on U.S. AI policy, with the magazine highlighting Smith's characterization of the current landscape as "regulation without transparent or complete rules." The phrasing points at a specific complaint heard often from industry: it isn't only whether AI gets regulated, but whether the requirements companies must meet are clearly spelled out in advance.
Meanwhile, TribLive reports that pressure for AI regulation is building as the global artificial intelligence race unfolds. According to that report, governments, public institutions and many individuals are expanding their use of the emerging technology, and industry regulation is becoming increasingly crucial as that adoption spreads.
Taken together, the two threads describe a gap. Adoption is racing ahead across the public and private sectors at the same time that the governing framework remains unsettled — a situation that satisfies neither the companies building these systems nor the institutions deploying them.
Why it matters: AI is already being woven into government services, workplaces and everyday life, and the rules being argued over now will determine who is accountable when those systems fail.