Ben Buchanan

So I think he is setting up a dichotomy there that I don't quite agree with. And the irony of that is, if you look at the rest of his speech, which I did watch, there's actually a lot that I do agree with. So he talks, for example, I think he's got four pillars in the speech. One's about centering the importance of workers.

So I think he is setting up a dichotomy there that I don't quite agree with. And the irony of that is, if you look at the rest of his speech, which I did watch, there's actually a lot that I do agree with. So he talks, for example, I think he's got four pillars in the speech. One's about centering the importance of workers.

One's about American preeminence and like, those are entirely consistent with the actions that we took and the philosophy that I think the administration, which I was a part espoused, and I certainly believe. Insofar as what he is saying is that safety and opportunity are in fundamental tension, then I disagree.

One's about American preeminence and like, those are entirely consistent with the actions that we took and the philosophy that I think the administration, which I was a part espoused, and I certainly believe. Insofar as what he is saying is that safety and opportunity are in fundamental tension, then I disagree.

And I think if you look at the history of technology and technology adaptation, the evidence is pretty clear that the right amount of safety action unleashes opportunity and, in fact, unleashes speed. So one of the examples that we studied a lot and talked to the president about was the early days of railroads.

And I think if you look at the history of technology and technology adaptation, the evidence is pretty clear that the right amount of safety action unleashes opportunity and, in fact, unleashes speed. So one of the examples that we studied a lot and talked to the president about was the early days of railroads.

And in the early days of railroads, there were tons of accidents and crashes and deaths. And people were not inclined to use railroads as a result. And then what started happening was safety standards and safety technology. Block signaling, so that trains could know when they were in the same area. Air brakes, so that trains could brake more efficiently.

And in the early days of railroads, there were tons of accidents and crashes and deaths. And people were not inclined to use railroads as a result. And then what started happening was safety standards and safety technology. Block signaling, so that trains could know when they were in the same area. Air brakes, so that trains could brake more efficiently.

standardization of train track widths and gauges and the like. And this was not always popular at the time. But with the benefit of hindsight, it is very clear that that kind of technology and to some degree policy development of safety standards made the American railroad system in the late 1800s. And I think this is a pattern that shows up a bunch throughout the history of technology.

standardization of train track widths and gauges and the like. And this was not always popular at the time. But with the benefit of hindsight, it is very clear that that kind of technology and to some degree policy development of safety standards made the American railroad system in the late 1800s. And I think this is a pattern that shows up a bunch throughout the history of technology.

To be very clear, it is not the case that every safety regulation, every technology is good. And there certainly are cases where you can overreach and you can slow things down and choke things off. But I don't think it's true. There's a fundamental tension between safety and opportunity.

To be very clear, it is not the case that every safety regulation, every technology is good. And there certainly are cases where you can overreach and you can slow things down and choke things off. But I don't think it's true. There's a fundamental tension between safety and opportunity.

The question then is, when you look at the actions we have taken on AI, are we strangling in the crib and have we taken actions that are akin to... I'm not saying that we've already done it.

The question then is, when you look at the actions we have taken on AI, are we strangling in the crib and have we taken actions that are akin to... I'm not saying that we've already done it.

Yeah, I think that's a profound question. I think what we tried to do in the Biden administration was set up the kind of institutions in the government to do that in as clear-eyed, tech-savvy a way as possible. Again, with the one exception of the safety test results sharing, which some of the CEOs estimate cost them one day of employee work.

Yeah, I think that's a profound question. I think what we tried to do in the Biden administration was set up the kind of institutions in the government to do that in as clear-eyed, tech-savvy a way as possible. Again, with the one exception of the safety test results sharing, which some of the CEOs estimate cost them one day of employee work.

We did not put anything close to regulation in place whatsoever. We create something called the AI Safety Institute, purely national security focused, cyber risks, bio risks, AI accident risks, purely voluntary. So, and that has relationships, memorandum of understanding with Anthropic, with OpenAI, even with XAI, Elon's company.

We did not put anything close to regulation in place whatsoever. We create something called the AI Safety Institute, purely national security focused, cyber risks, bio risks, AI accident risks, purely voluntary. So, and that has relationships, memorandum of understanding with Anthropic, with OpenAI, even with XAI, Elon's company.

And basically, I think we saw that as an opportunity to bring AI expertise into the government to build relationships between public and private sector in a voluntary way. And then as the technology develops, it will be up to now the Trump administration decide what they want to do with it.

And basically, I think we saw that as an opportunity to bring AI expertise into the government to build relationships between public and private sector in a voluntary way. And then as the technology develops, it will be up to now the Trump administration decide what they want to do with it.