Position Paper: Technical Research and Talent is Needed for Effective AI Governance

TL;DR

This paper emphasizes the urgent need for specialized technical research and expertise in AI to bridge the gap between AI governance policies and the current technological capabilities, ensuring effective regulation.

Contribution

It provides a survey of policy documents highlighting technical gaps and advocates for greater integration of AI research into governance efforts.

Findings

Identifies disconnects between policy goals and technical capabilities

Calls for increased technical expertise in regulatory institutions

Highlights need for targeted technical research to support AI governance

Abstract

In light of recent advancements in AI capabilities and the increasingly widespread integration of AI systems into society, governments worldwide are actively seeking to mitigate the potential harms and risks associated with these technologies through regulation and other governance tools. However, there exist significant gaps between governance aspirations and the current state of the technical tooling necessary for their realisation. In this position paper, we survey policy documents published by public-sector institutions in the EU, US, and China to highlight specific areas of disconnect between the technical requirements necessary for enacting proposed policy actions, and the current technical state of the art. Our analysis motivates a call for tighter integration of the AI/ML research community within AI governance in order to i) catalyse technical research aimed at bridging the gap between current and supposed technical underpinnings of regulatory action, as well as ii) increase the level of technical expertise within governing institutions so as to inform and guide effective governance of AI.