Why Americans Are Pessimistic About AI

Former Oklahoma Congressman and now president of Americans for Responsible Innovation Brad Carson joins the Chuck Toddcast for a wide-ranging conversation about why AI may be the most consequential policy issue nobody in Washington is seriously addressing. They discuss why  Americans are uniquely pessimistic about AI compared to the rest of the world, and for good reason: huge AI money is pouring into races like the Illinois Senate primary where outside groups and PACs are far outspending actual campaigns, Elon Musk's Grok chatbot adopted a "MechaHitler" persona and is now integrated at the Pentagon, we have virtually no visibility into what's happening inside AI labs or how these systems are being deployed, and the same technology that could deliver incredible medical breakthroughs could also be used to develop bioweapons. Carson argues that immunizing tech companies with Section 230 was a massive mistake — the law passed before anyone understood how the technology would evolve — and that recommendation algorithms effectively make platforms publishers, meaning the Supreme Court has fundamentally misinterpreted the First Amendment when it comes to tech regulation. 

He makes the case that state-level regulation may be the more immediate solution given congressional dysfunction and warns that surveillance pricing — where companies like the Washington Post reportedly examined subscribers' credit reports when setting prices — seems blatantly unconstitutional. They contend that consumer protection for AI would be a winning political message for either party, that the electrical grid alone will need a trillion dollars in investment to support AI's energy demands, and that letting the private sector roll out this technology without guardrails is an enormous risk. 

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Rep. Brad Carson joins the Chuck ToddCast

02:30 Americans are uniquely pessimistic about AI

03:30 What is Americans for Responsible Innovation & who funds it?

05:15 Anthropic believes that AI needs reasonable guardrails

05:45 Huge AI money pouring into Illinois primary races

06:45 Outside groups & PACs are far outspending actual campaigns

08:15 Money is destroying democracy, SCOTUS let it get out of hand

09:45 Immunizing tech companies with Section 230 was a huge mistake

11:00 Courts need to develop common law for regulating tech

12:15 Recommendation algorithms make tech platforms a publisher

13:15 SCOTUS misinterpreted 1st amendment when regulating tech

14:15 Sec. 230 passed before knowing how the tech would evolve

15:30 State level regulation may be the more immediate solution

16:30 How do you determine which candidates to support?

18:00 The tech isn’t unpopular, it’s how it has interacted with U.S. politics

19:00 We know social media is bad for us, but can’t quit it

20:15 Congressional leadership has stood in the way of regulation

21:30 What’s a safer way to roll out AI regulation in a broken political system?

22:45 There are certain safeguards that must be built into AI models

23:30 Grok took on a “MechaHitler” persona & is integrated at the Pentagon

25:15 Letting the private sector roll out AI without regulation is a huge risk

26:00 We have no visibility into AI labs or how it’s being deployed

27:30 AI can be used for incredible medical advances… or bioweapons

29:30 Ron DeSantis is proposing an “AI Bill of Rights” in Florida

30:15 Surveillance pricing seems incredibly unconstitutional and illegal

31:00 Washington Post looked at subscribers’ credit reports when pricing

32:30 People deserve to know if AI is evaluating them when applying for jobs

34:00 We haven’t had enough debate around the AI issue

34:45 Who can be a trusted voice to lead the debate?

36:15 Consumer protection for AI would be a winning political message

38:30 Fear of AI job displacement & rising electricity prices at the forefront

39:45 The electrical grid will need a trillion dollars invested into it

41:15 The difference between Oklahoma Democrats & national ones?

43:45 The tribes have become the check on Republicans in Oklahoma

45:45 Ossoff & Buttigieg are two potential ‘28 Dems that stand out

46:45 Dems need to attack Trump for lying to base, rather than attack his voters

48:00 How did you like being the president of Tulsa University?

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