Philip Athey

Philip Athey

Washington D.c.
White House looks to place thumb on AI truth

White House looks to place thumb on AI truth

Last week the White House released an AI Action Plan and executive orders that threaten to withhold federal funds from states that regulate AI, order federal agencies to end investigations into AI companies and delete any existing rules or agreements that could slow AI development, and fast-track or in some cases completely nix the environmental permitting process for AI infrastructure projects. But there was one string attached to the big tech giveaway: If AI companies want to do business with
Philip Athey

Philip Athey
The moratorium is dead, long live preemption

The moratorium is dead, long live preemption

Republican attempts to pause state AI regulations via the catchall budget reconciliation bill died in a vote just after 4 a.m. Monday, but the larger fight over state preemption is just getting started. In the absence of significant federal legislation regulating AI, states have stepped into the void, introducing and debating hundreds of bills to regulate the developing technology. Colorado advanced the ball even further, enacting the first-of-its-kind comprehensive AI legislation in 20
Government
Philip Athey

Philip Athey
Authoritarian intelligence

Authoritarian intelligence

The United States and China are locked in a battle to dominate the global artificial intelligence landscape. Much of Silicon Valley assumes that if the U.S. wins that race, it will usher in an era of AI technologies that reflect democratic values and protect individual freedoms. “The United States must pursue decisive technical superiority fueled by a vision for American AI that advances democratic values and global development,” said a recent report from the Center for a New American Security.
Civil Liberties
Philip Athey

Philip Athey
The Leading Edge (06/06/25)

The Leading Edge (06/06/25)

Artificial intelligence excels at combing through large amounts of data to provide whatever answer or analysis a user needs. The Trump administration has been leveraging the power of AI to sift through a tremendous amount of publicly available data to help fulfill the president’s promise of mass deportation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has promised to revoke visas and detain foreign students if AI-fueled reviews of their public speech unearth disfavored opinions. The AP reported that more th
Philip Athey

Philip Athey
The Leading Edge (05/16/25)

The Leading Edge (05/16/25)

Almost exactly two years ago at an appearance on Capitol Hill, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman begged Congress to regulate the artificial intelligence industry before it was too late and the technology severely damaged society. “My worst fears are that we—the field, the technology, the industry—cause significant harm to the world. ... If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong,” Altman said. “Regulatory intervention by governments will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful
Philip Athey

Philip Athey
The Leading Edge (05/02/25)

The Leading Edge (05/02/25)

Tucked inside the House Judiciary Committee’s draft legislation for the upcoming “big, beautiful” Republican reconciliation bill was language that would have stripped the Federal Trade Commission of its antitrust enforcement authority and handed it over to the Justice Department. Committee Chair Jim Jordan has long supported such a shift, as have other, more populist Republicans like Sen. Mike Lee. Even the president’s self-described “first buddy” Elon Musk endorsed the idea. Despite that supp
Philip Athey

Philip Athey