Ami Fields-Meyer, former Senior Policy Advisor at The White House and the Chief of Staff of Dr. Alondra Nelson during her time leading the Office of Science and Technology Policy, gave an insightful talk on AI and democratic governance at the BGF Conference “Governing the Future: AI, Democracy, and Humanity.” Titled “Resilient Democracy in the Age of AI,” he discussed several key ideas that shed light on tensions between AI and current conceptions of democratic governance. AI is not just a tool, but holds capacity to reshape society for good or for harm. He warned about the negatives externalities that unchecked AI can affect society, such as potential discrepancies for discrimination and the contradictions between profit motives and democractic values. Still, he stated that AI regulation and governance is still within the capacity of government to act upon and society to advocate for.
