Criticism of power does not stand in the way of forward thinking

We must be power critical in our handling of artificial intelligence, argues jurist Embla Nerland in Aftenposten. She puts it up against my suggestions of a Minister of Technology in charge of KI and more future-thinking.

Politicians must no doubt understand the power structures and respond with measures that equalise them. But a power-critical KI policy requires political institutions that are flexible enough to meet rapid change, such as an KI minister.

We're already in arrears. We need to interpret and adapt the legislation to deal with KI, introduce an algorithm oversight to prevent discriminatory use of KI, fund and develop safe AI solutions, i.e. systems that can be understood and more easily monitored, and an KI minister who takes an active role in international collaborations on KI to learn from international expertise and contribute to global frameworks.

Politicians need to know their contemporaries. But without a long-term perspective, the policy will be outdated in the time it takes effect. We therefore need both critical power analysis and forward thinking!

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