GAO Chief Scientist Suggests Establishing Baseline Data for AI Repercussions

Despite doomsday scenarios about artificial intelligence, useful data doesn’t exist to determine if the technology would harm U.S. jobs, GAO Chief Scientist Tim Persons told us Friday. “We’re worried about it taking over the world and still can’t answer some basic questions about it,” Persons said after speaking at a Software & Information Industry Association event.

Persons suggested industry, government and academia research big data’s impact and establish a baseline to understand potential repercussions and benefits. Vignettes, case studies and science fiction drive the narrative, he said: “The bottom line is nobody knows.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics hasn't produced tangible results showing internet-related impacts to the labor market in the 1990s, he said. “If you’re an economist, there’s a lot of great research here on how you actually judge that.”

There’s no future for cybersecurity without AI, Persons said during his presentation. He commended the White House’s decision to prioritize the technology’s development (see 1812260050). How the administration pursues that priority in real terms like R&D is the question, he said.

A lot of data and studies claim AI will reduce U.S. jobs, said SIIA Senior Vice President-Public Policy Mark MacCarthy. He regards much of that as “guesswork,” arguing researchers are simply determining if certain jobs can be automated. The technology will produce enormous changes, and the U.S. needs to “prepare for it somehow,” he said. Automation could free workers to be more “high functioning,” Persons said, suggesting AI could replace undesirable tasks.

Don’t assume AI will only benefit humans, said Dun and Bradstreet Chief Data Scientist Anthony Scriffignano. The risk is “giving up the right to think to machines,” he said, warning that humans risk letting automation take over.

EU officials view data as the new oil, EU Digital Policy Officer Jesse Spector said. Though the EU is fragmented, there's a desire to build comprehensive data sets regionwide. Embassy of Canada Senior Policy Adviser Brad Wood described his country’s goal of establishing tech partnerships internationally. He cited innovation partnerships with France, saying the focus should be on increasing public trust of AI. Japan is focused on optimizing the “explainability” of the technology, said Embassy of Japan Counselor-Economic Section Masayuki Matsui.