ROGUE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, SCIENCE FICTION, AND THE LAW

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been labeled an existential threat. Proposals to combat this menace include industry pauses on the development of advanced AI, legislated moratoria, and creation of a new federal agency with the power to regulate and license advanced AI. If such claims sound vaguely familiar, that is not surprising. For decades, science fiction movies and television series have featured computers, robots, and androids that disobey, rebel, malfunction, or evolve to the point where they kill human beings and/or attempt to exterminate the human species. This Article draws upon social science research to explain that such stories encourage audiences to view AI in a negative light. This Article then examines the downsides of the above policy proposals. An industry pause or legislated moratorium may be difficult to lift due to status quo bias. Licensing regimes may stifle innovation and reduce competitiveness. This Article concludes that policy decisions should not be made without first accounting for the distorting influence of science fiction.