The writer is a fellow at Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. She is the author of ‘The Tech Coup’
The more power AI companies claim, the stronger a storm of popular sentiment against its deployment is swelling from all kinds of directions. Across the US, grassroots movements are forming to protest against various excesses and the effects of the technology, from parents furious about the harms done to children with chatbot companions to communities attempting to block data centres and objecting to company contracts with government agencies.
Tech chief executives and the Trump administration thus far calculate that embracing deregulation will ensure American AI dominance over geopolitical rivals. But they may well face a backlash, or “botlash”, reckoning at home.