In case you haven’t heard: The US Senate recently held the first of several summit meetings on Artificial Intelligence. This is the start of a long process where the US Federal government will discuss how AI should be used and regulated – not just by the government, though. The talks in these summit meetings will very likely reverberate through the future of AI usage for years to come. But here’s the thing. This was a “closed-door summit.” A private gathering where the general public and media were not permitted to listen in on what was presented. What we do know, is it was attended by 22 Big Tech titans, with the likes of Bill Gates, Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk reportedly attending.

Interestingly enough, little or no media attention or information was shared about this summit, before or after, though a handful of articles have surfaced since the meeting. Realistically speaking there’s been little publicity on the meetings and conversations that have led to this, either. For example, did you know there were 3 previous public hearings held in Mid 2023? These meetings included national security experts, civil rights leaders, as well as academics. There were also several meetings mid-2021 that covered the topic and were attended by US government officials. And if you weren’t looking specifically for this info? You wouldn’t find it. 

Speaking of AI and its impact on our lives, one of the hosts of the latest summit, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., commented “AI is going to be the most transformative thing affecting us in the next decades. It’s going to affect every aspect of life. It has tremendous potential to do some really good things: cure cancer, make our food supply better, deal with our national security, help our education. It has tremendous potential to do bad things: allow continuation of bias, throw many people out of work and even let some of our adversaries get ahead of us.”

Schumer continued, “When it’s something this difficult and this pervasive and this changing — it’s changing rapidly — the average instinct of Congress is ‘Let’s ignore it; let someone else do it.’ There is no one else to do it. We can’t be like ostriches and put our heads in the sand, because if government doesn’t involve itself in putting in some real guardrails, this thing could run amok.”

Let’s all be honest, this sounds like a new approach for the government in addressing advances in technology, which I don’t think anyone can complain about. However, the 100+ year history of doing exactly what Schumer stated “Let’s ignore it; let someone else do it,” doesn’t elicit much confidence that these “closed door” meetings will result in decisions in the public’s best interest. There’s a time and a place for “closed doors” – but it’s hard to argue that it’s reasonable for discussions of what Schumer himself called “the most transformative thing affecting us in the next decades.”

And when we compare the pace of technology with the pace of legislation, there’s someone left in limbo. And it’s all of us. Whether we’re talking about the US, the EU, the UK, or other governmental bodies… it typically takes years for our government to catch up to technology. But in the limbo period before official regulation, this technology isn’t going to stop. AI is changing the way we consume news, the way we engage with our social media – AI filters are impacting teens’ self confidence, and customer service chat bots are everywhere. Consumers are being sold products made by AI, without clear disclosure that a human did not write, design, or otherwise create the content. Books & articles being written by AI algorithms, responses in online searches filled with faulty information due to AI scraping information from other sources – sometimes incorrectly. Images and voices are being created by AI to sell music and other materials. I mean, we’ve all seen the Drake debacle hit the news, and I don’t need to tell you about the impact of AI on actors and screenwriters. Screen actors are speaking out now – but they are our canary in the coal mine. And non-unionized industries? Their power to take action is minimal at best.

Don’t take this the wrong way, AI isn’t bad, and we’re not saying it is. It’s modern day magic.

AI can (and will, and in some cases already is) help(ing) humanity in a multitude of ways – medical cures & diagnostic tools, home and personal security, through scientific advances, and a host of other areas. But there’s a double edge to this sword, and if we’re not careful… you know where that metaphor is going.

The reality is simple. AI is here, and it’s not going anywhere any time soon. Or rather, it’s more accurate to say it’s going everywhere very, very soon. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wait around for the results of the “closed door” meetings to be shared with the public. I would much rather crowdsource a reasonable, effective standard of AI Usage disclosure, that we can implement now. Not a standard that’s “for” AI, or one that’s “against” it, either. Simple, straightforward labeling that clarifies when AI was used in the creation of a product, the process of communication, or your overall interaction with a piece of media as a human being. So that you know if you’re talking to a chatbot or a customer service agent. So that you know when a product was created by AI. So that you know when an ad was written by AI, or when a news article was.

We’re into transparency, not limitation.

And if you’re into that too? JOIN US. Start using the stamps. Be a part of the movement to create a UNIFIED STANDARD for simple, easy to understand AI Usage disclosure.

There’s still time for YOU to decide how you’re disclosing your use of AI (or being clear that you’re NOT using it, for whatever reason you choose) – in your work. So let’s not wait for world governments (and Big Tech) to catch up.