Human Rights

Montana Supreme Court affirms decision in historic youth climate case (Micah Drew and Blair Miller)

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Limit on analysis of greenhouse gas emissions is unconstitutional, court rules.The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a district court ruling in the nation’s first constitutional climate change trial, affirming that the youth plaintiffs have a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment” while revoking two Montana statutes. The 70-page decision, authored by Chief Justice …

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Generative AI and Political Power (Eugene Volokh)

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As people come to rely on AI tools to answer questions, they will likely use those tools to answer political questions as well. The answers that the AI companies choose to provide, the author argues, may thus subtly but substantially influence public attitudes and, therefore, elections—especially to the extent Big Tech has been shifting from …

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Misunderstanding AI’s Democracy Problem (Nathaniel Persily)

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Undue panic over AI could harm democracy more than AI itself. The author suggests that exaggerating AI’s effects might undermine trust in all media, posing a greater threat than isolated disinformation incidents. He concludes that a democratic future for AI requires transparency, accountability, and significant public investment to guide technological development. Artificial intelligence amplifies the …

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AI, Society, and Democracy: Just Relax (John H. Cochrane)

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The author argues that law and regulation have never diagnosed and prevented social, political, and economic ills of new technology. AI is no different. AI regulation poses a greater threat to democracy than AI, as governments are anxious to use regulation to censor information. Free competition in civil society, media, and academia will address any …

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Why the Military Can’t Trust AI: Large Language Models Can Make Bad Decisions—and Could Trigger Nuclear War (Max Lamparth and Jacquelyn Schneider)

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In 2022, OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT, a chatbot that uses large language models to mimic human conversations and to answer users’ questions. The chatbot’s extraordinary abilities sparked a debate about how LLMs might be used to perform other tasks—including fighting a war. Although there is research by some, including Professor Yvonne McDermott Rees at Swansea University, …

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Hoover and Stanford HAI Host Emerging Watchdogs At Conference To Confront Challenges Of Regulating Artificial Intelligence (Hoover Institution)

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As artificial intelligence (AI) moves into the mainstream, the possibilities it creates—both positive and nefarious—are seemingly limitless. As artificial intelligence (AI) moves into the mainstream, the possibilities it creates—both positive and nefarious—are seemingly limitless. But the growth of AI capabilities comes with risk, from foolish generative fakery swaying elections to the creation of an all-powerful …

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Defense Against the AI Dark Arts: Threat Assessment and Coalition Defense: Threat Assessment and Coalition Defense (Philip Zelikow, Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Eric Schmidt, and Jason Matheny)

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An intelligence and defense agenda for artifcial intelligence (AI) will likely take shape in The present agenda for “AI safety” is now commonly equated with checking the safety of products from private frms that use AI. The new agenda we propose goes far beyond that. The United States and its partners must get ready for …

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The Crumbling Foundations of American Strength: Knowledge Is Power—and the United States Is Losing It (Amy Zegart)

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When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appeared imminent in early 2022, U.S. intelligence officials were so confident that Russian tanks would roll quickly to victory that staff evacuated the U.S. embassy in Kyiv. Based on traditional measures of power, the intelligence assessment made sense. In 2021, Russia ranked fifth in the world in defense spending, whereas …

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THE STANFORD EMERGING TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 2023: A Report on Ten Key Technologies and Their Policy Implications (Hoover Institution)

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Emerging technologies are transforming societies, economies, and geopolitics. This moment brings unparalleled promise and novel risks. In every era, technological advances buoy nations that develop and scale them—helping to save lives, win wars, foster greater prosperity, and advance the human condition. At the same time, history is filled with examples where slow-moving governments stifled innovation …

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