https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03333-7
Innovation and regulation need not be in opposition. The world needs both.
Fortunately, there is a wealth of literature on regulation — from banking to medicines to food to road safety — on which governments can draw. For instance, researchers at Google DeepMind in London have laid out some lessons that civil nuclear technology could have for AI, using the example of the International Atomic Energy Agency (H. Law & L. Ho Nature Rev. Phys. https://doi.org/k3h2; 2023).
Other mainstays of regulation include registration, regular monitoring, reporting of incidents that could cause harm, and continuing education, for both users and regulators. Road safety offers lessons here. The car has transformed the lives of billions, but also causes harm. To mitigate risks, vehicle manufacturers need to comply with product safety standards; vehicles must be tested regularly; and there is compulsory driver training and licensing, along with an insurance-based legal framework to assess and apportion liability in the case of accidents. Regulation can even spur innovation. The introduction of emissions standards inspired the development of cleaner vehicles.
Governments and corporations should not fear regulation. It enables technologies to develop and protects people from harm. And it need not come at the cost of innovation. In fact, setting firm boundaries could spur safer innovation within them.