Overview
In 2023, the Director of the Brookings Center on Regulation and Markets, Dr. Sanjay Patnaik, launched the Brookings AI Policy Idea Incubator with the goal of bridging the informational gap between market actors developing new AI technologies and the policymaking community charged with regulating and guiding these new technologies.
Artificial intelligence systems are advancing rapidly and today have capabilities that were unthinkable just a few years ago. This could profoundly transform our economy and society, and the rapid pace of innovation also makes it difficult for policymakers to apply traditional regulatory and policy models to govern market developments dynamically. Instead of reacting to new technologies with a long delay, policymakers need to be more proactive and they must also strike a balance between protecting against harms without stifling innovation or competition. An early and regular information exchange between the tech industry and the policymaking ecosystem would help identify critical issues and facilitate the development of more efficient approaches to governing new technologies and their effects on society. The result would be smarter policies that better protect those impacted by new technologies while also encouraging innovation.
The Brookings AI Policy Idea Incubator is a consultative forum that engages stakeholders and experts to inform the policy debate around the economic impacts of AI, the best approaches for regulation, and how to solve potential safety issues. The Center will leverage Brookings’ unique convening power to bring together current and former policymakers and legislators, applied researchers from think tanks and academia, and technology and industry experts. This incubator has the potential to lead to new ideas and policy innovations that could greatly improve our ability to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of new technologies.
We will initially focus on the economic and policy implications of transformative AI in the following areas:
AI and productivity
How could market forces be channeled to maximize the societal benefits of AI? Policymakers face the dual challenge of unleashing the productivity potential of AI as a general-purpose technology while ensuring that gains are shared equitably, especially with workers who may suffer from the induced disruption. For the U.S. economy to fulfill its potential and maintain its status, we need policies that enable the smooth rollout of new productivity-enhancing technology while keeping disruption at manageable levels.
AI and competition
How might the potential harms from excessive market concentration be avoided while harnessing the potential of AI? Given high fixed costs and market concentration in frontier AI systems, the rollout of AI across a growing number of sectors could be detrimental to competition in downstream markets as well as among AI models. Work is needed to inform antitrust oversight and sectoral policies to maintain contestability, prevent abuses of market power, and ensure a level playing field between AI and human providers.
AI and the future and meaning of work
How could the social safety net and taxation be updated to ensure prosperity is shared widely in an AI-transformed economy? A growing number of experts predict that AI will have a significant impact on the labor market. In the short term, AI is likely to automate many tasks, to augment humans in performing their tasks, and to require very different skills-development programs. In the medium term, AI may lead to wide-ranging disruption with serious implications for worker participation, for the personal meaning derived from work, and for the civic fabric of our society. This will also have profound implications for skill building and educational approaches.
Convenings
So far, the Brookings AI Policy Idea Incubator has held two convenings:
May 2024
On May 9, 2024, we brought together a broad range of stakeholders to discuss salient issues related to AI for a private, invite-only convening (in hybrid format). The audience and speakers consisted of a wide range of experts from the private sector, policymaking community, think tanks, and academia. By building a forum that engages representatives from the private and public sector alongside researchers and other experts, we sought to inform the policy debate and the best approaches for regulating AI.
Themes included:
- AI and competition
- AI policy challenges and industry trends
- AI and labor markets
- Global AI and market trends
- U.S. competitiveness and AI
- AI, national security, and geopolitics
June 2023
On June 20, 2023, we hosted a private, virtual, invite-only roundtable to kick off the idea incubator, with a special focus on the regulation of Frontier AI systems. The focus was on the most capable foundation models that may possess capabilities sufficient to pose risks to public safety, and how the government could develop its capacity for AI regulation more generally.
Themes included:
- Regulation of Frontier AI
- Building government capacity for AI regulation, including attracting and maintaining talent