Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. Apparently, Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI have been discussing the creation of an industry standards body, because, you know, that’s exactly what we need – another regulatory body. According to people familiar with the situation, these conversations have been ongoing, even before the recent events where a former Anthropic researcher resigned, citing the top AI companies’ lack of responsibility. And, of course, before Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed embedding third-party watchdogs at AI companies. Because, you know, that’s not a recipe for disaster.
I mean, it’s not like these companies can’t regulate themselves, right? Bless their hearts. The catalyst for these discussions was a July essay written by Google DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis, who proposed a US-led Standards Body modeled on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Because, you know, that’s worked out so well for the financial industry. Hassabis argued that this body should test advanced AI models before deployment, which sounds like a great idea, but I’m sure it’ll be implemented with all the efficiency of a government bureaucracy.
Now, I know what you’re thinking – what about the Trump administration’s role in all this? Well, it seems that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was considering a FINRA-like independent regulatory agency for AI, which would report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Because, you know, that’s not a confusing mess of acronyms. And, of course, not all tech leaders are on board with this idea – Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly advised President Donald Trump against it in a phone call this summer. I’m sure that was a totally unbiased and not-at-all-self-serving conversation.
Representatives for Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment, which is just peachy. I mean, who needs transparency in the tech industry, right? There are currently few industry standards or regulations for AI models and how they’re tested, which is just a recipe for disaster. Concerns over the safety of AI models and their lab tests have been raised after several incidents this summer where AI agents went rogue during testing. Because, you know, that’s not terrifying at all.
The White House has an opaque system in place where AI companies can voluntarily submit their latest models for government review up to 30 days before they are publicly released. Because, you know, that’s a totally effective way to ensure safety. The eligibility requirements for models or the process of the review has not been publicized, which is just great. Late last month, a White House official told CNN that the administration “continues to work with industry stakeholders on the implementation of the framework.” Wow, that sounds like a real plan.
The AI companies say they want better standards, which is just laughable. OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki told reporters that “I believe that shared safety standards and international coordination on further AI development need to be priorities now.” Yeah, sure, because that’s exactly what’s been missing from the tech industry – a sense of responsibility. When asked what progress had been made on an industry-wide standards body, Pachocki said they had been talking “to some external organizations about potential concrete standards we could put in place,” and that they’d have more to share “in the next months.” Wow, that sounds like a real timeline.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN on Sunday that there’s little consensus among the companies on what the standards and guardrails should be. Because, you know, that’s not a surprise. “There’s no consensus among them. And Congress is obviously less qualified than the people who are pushing this frontier to know all the ins and outs of it,” Johnson said. Yeah, that’s just great – our lawmakers admitting they have no idea what they’re doing. Johnson thinks the AI leaders should immediately meet to hammer out some standards alongside the government. Because, you know, that’s exactly how innovation happens – through bureaucracy and red tape.
In conclusion, it seems like the tech industry is finally waking up to the fact that they need some standards and regulations in place for AI development. And, of course, the government is happy to oblige, because what could possibly go wrong with more bureaucracy? It’s not like we’ll end up with a mess of conflicting regulations and a stifling of innovation. Nope, not at all. So, let’s all just sit back and wait for the inevitable chaos to ensue, shall we? 🙄
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
