Husbands Fealing Explores the Policy Puzzle of Generative AI 

Posted December 5, 2023

Kaye Husbands Fealing, dean and Ivan Allen Jr. Chair in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, joined a roundtable on "Solving the Policy Puzzle of Generative AI."  

The panel — part of the Trillion Dollar Questions series by Carnegie Mellon — was moderated by Wall Street Journal technology columnist Christopher Mims and included Erik Brynjolfsson of Stanford University and Ramayya Krishnan of Carnegie Mellon University. 

“I wanted to drill down in the area of ‘How is artificial intelligence being used in the public sector?’” Husbands Fealing said. “And also think a little bit about, ‘Well, what does all of this do for us in the economy?’” 

“I want us to think carefully about two things,” she added. “Does AI create inequality? And what are the lenses that we need, in addition to technologists, to be able to understand better ‘What are the impacts of artificial intelligence, in our society, in our communities? What's the value? What are the risks, and how do we mitigate those risks?’” 

Researchers in Ivan Allen College ask these questions across disciplines, delving into AI ethics concerns, the use of AI in the military, the intersection of art and AI, and much more.  

In addition, the panelists discussed AI policy and whether or not the emerging capabilities of AI are too new and varied to be regulated just yet.  

"We don't have the evidence and the knowledge right now to put something in that's generally broad-based, very high level — we just don't have that," Husbands Fealing said. The research needs to come first, and it won't be a one-size-fits-all situation, she said. 

When it comes to designing the myriad regulatory policies that will be put into place, Husbands Fealing anticipates cooperation between the private and public sectors.  

"It has to be a collaborative process. It has to be a process where we're looking at, yes, what the federal government or possibly others can fund, but it has to be in concert with industry," she said. Husbands Fealing also stressed the importance of communicating government protections with the public as AI rolls out and keeping people informed and engaged in conversations about how it may affect their jobs.  

In closing, Husbands Fealing brought up a final concern about generative AI that the panelists hadn't yet touched on: cybersecurity.   

"At the end of the day, cyber threats are another layer of the same type of issue where we need to find solutions," she said. It's something companies are concerned about right now and one more thing "on top of the heap that really needs to be addressed." 

For more information on AI and Policy, Husbands Fealing suggests "The Government is Using AI to Better Serve the Public," and "AI and Government Communications: Huge Together If We Can Manage The Risks."