Ian Bremmer's plan for global AI governance

Ian Bremmer is a political scientist, risk consultant, and the author of “The AI Power Paradox,” a new essay in the Sept./Oct. 2023 issue of Foreign Affairs, co-written along with Mustafa Suleyman (co-founder of DeepMind and Inflection AI). In this essay, Bremmer lays out a plan for AI governance that aims to take into account a fundamental shift in the nature of political power that he says has been brought about by AI. He imagines a framework where nation-states, tech companies, and proposed newly created technocratic agencies all would join forces to try and mitigate the risks posed by AI.

Ian, who also appeared in episode 3 of our first season, sat down for a second conversation with host Raffi Krikorian to discuss his plan, and address some challenges. Is it appropriate to integrate private corporations and industry players so deeply as aids in their own regulation? How will this global framework prevent regulatory capture? And what, if anything, can be done about open-source AI models, not controlled by any state or private company?