Leading experts have strong and diverging views about the future of artificial intelligence (AI), especially the speed of technological progress, the desirability of that speed, the risks of adoption, and appropriate public policy responses. As the increasing adoption of AI transforms society, policymakers should aim for resilience—the ability to withstand shocks, adapt, and recover—as the central goal of public policy. Drawing lessons from engineering, psychology, and ecology, this paper’s authors explore how resilience can guide policy choices as AI profoundly changes the economy, individuals and communities, and national security.
Resilience stands in contrast to other approaches to policy: An overarching do-nothing approach to social media and the existing wait-and-see approach to AI have failed to strengthen society, institutions, or systems to be able to withstand pressures from a technology whose impact has a wide variety of possibilities.
This publication is part of the RAND expert insights series. The expert insights series presents perspectives on timely policy issues.
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