AI has no future without credible regulation

Yale School of Management professor Gautam Mukunda wrote that the artificial intelligence industry has no long-term future without credible federal regulation, according to a column published by Bloomberg and distributed by Tribune Content Agency. Mukunda argued that recent events including the Supreme Court's June 29 ruling in Trump v. Slaughter and a Cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce demonstrate the weakening capability of the federal government. The ruling allows presidents to fire independent agency heads at will, removing for-cause protections that shielded agencies from political interference. A companion Office of Personnel Management policy known as Schedule Policy/Career could strip protections from 50,000 career civil servants in policy-influencing roles. The column stated that a non-partisan, expert agency is exactly what AI needs to earn public trust. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found this spring that even daily AI users want regulation, while the Pew Research Center found about 67% of Americans have little or no confidence in the government to regulate AI effectively. Mukunda wrote that well-crafted regulations from an apolitical expert agency are more likely to help the industry flourish than unstable rules that change with each administration. Mukunda noted that industry leaders including Elon Musk and David Sacks have contributed to weakening federal capacity while arguing for light federal oversight. He compared the situation to Boeing lobbying for a relaxed FAA and Wall Street pushing for loose regulation before the 2008 crash. The column concluded that the industry needs to use its financial resources and political influence to strengthen federal capabilities rather than weaken them.