AI Regulatory Lessons from the Atomic Age

Excerpt

On December 8, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower stood in front of the United Nations (UN) to explain the dawn of the “Atomic Age”—and its risks. He cautioned that “the fearful engines of atomic might are not ours alone,” noting that the Soviet Union’s extensive investments into nuclear weapons had destroyed America’s short-lived monopoly overatomic power. The stakes were unprecedented. There was a risk of “surprise aggression.” There would be proliferation. 

Today, a new artificial intelligence (AI) era is dawning—bringing with it challenges similar to those of the Atomic Age. As it looks to craft a responsive policy, the US government would do well to learn from the Atomic Age example. In particular, one regulatory lesson is very clear: When facing a great power challenger and grappling with a disruptive technology, the United States needs a centralized, clear regulatory environment that encourages the positive commercial development on which American global leadership is based. 

Learning from the Atomic Age’s Domestic Regulatory Blueprint 

Ike’s December 1953 message targeted an international audience. But the domestic policy machine was operating in parallel, generating Congress’s 1954 revision of the Atomic Energy Act. That legislation initiated a novel regulatory framework that has guided American nuclear development ever since. The framework has helped America to innovate, commercialize, and lead in both the commercial and military applications of nuclear technology for successive generations—and to do so safely and securely, despite a perilous global security environment and the disruptive potential of nuclear technology.

The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 revised the original 1946 Atomic Energy Act to enable private-sector commercialization of nuclear technology. But the 1954 Act ensured that such commercialization would take place under the oversight of a centralized, Federal suite of regulatory authorities, including those originally held by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), a single Federal regulator.

Emily de La Bruyère is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on China policy, and is the cofounder of Horizon Advisory, a supply chain data firm. She has a BS from Princeton University and an MA from Sciences Po, where she was a Michel David-Weill Fellow. Nathan Picarsic is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on Chinese global and economic strategy. He is also the cofounder of Horizon Advisory, a supply chain data firm. He has a BA from Harvard College.