Philip K. Howard: Don’t try to let AI replace human judgment, responsibility

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There’s no doubting the power and potential of artificial intelligence. But AI is not reliably moral. Indeed, its own inventors suggest that unchecked AI could lead to catastrophic consequences.
 
How do we control AI? There must be some mechanism that empowers human judgment and locates human responsibility—for example, requiring people who are accountable to build in guardrails. The frontier AI companies probably need to take this responsibility, overseen by an independent expert panel. Developing this oversight may require as much invention as AI itself.
 
But it’s not the only innovation required. The role of human judgment must also be resuscitated. We must abandon the myth that any complex legal system can achieve effective government. Fairness requires judgment in the circumstances. Individual freedom requires the power to use judgment. Safe AI requires judgment in design and in continuous oversight.
 
After the 1960s, America’s legal and governing structures were remade to preempt human judgment. The question seems to have become: “Who are you to judge?’’ Thick rulebooks tell us not only what to do, but exactly how to do it. Just follow the rules. Years-long procedures require us to prove by objective evidence what is right and what is wrong. But how does a school principal prove that a lousy teacher is just going through the motions?
 
Nothing much works in America as it should. Everyone knows it. The abundance advocates. The MAGA folks. But they haven’t put their finger on the root flaw—a governing framework that repudiates human judgment. Of course common sense is dead. Common sense requires judgment in the circumstances.
 
In The Washington Post, I  argue that America needs to abandon the rationalistic red tape state—and indeed, the naïve notion that any “system” can right the ship. We must transition back to a simpler framework activated by real people using their judgment and accountable for how they do.
 
AI has called the question: Do we want humans to be in charge?
 
Common Good is working with leading citizens, experts, and think tanks to articulate this new human-centric model of governing. If you’re interested in getting involved, please get in touch.

Philip K. Howard, a lawyer and best-selling author (The Death of Common Sense, etc.), is founder and chairman of Common Good, a nonprofit legal-, regulatory-, and cultural-reform organization, as well as a New York civic leader and a photographer.