We can’t trust the fox to guard the henhouse, especially when it comes to AI
We recorded 12 claims from this post. 2 were checked against evidence. 10 can’t be checked. 2 more are held. Read the post at its source.
Claims from this post (12)
In the order they appear in the post. Each quotation is the speaker’s words in this post. A label such as “Supported” or “Can’t be checked” is the claim’s current assessment; its page has the evidence and the reasons.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
“The premise of the book is that Silicon Valley is increasingly controlling our lives, and indeed the entire world, and that Washington (seat of the US government) is too much in their thrall to stand up tall enough against it.”
What we tested: Silicon Valley is increasingly controlling our lives and the entire world, and Washington is too much in its thrall to stand up tall enough against it.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
“And that we need to act, now.”
What we tested: We need to act now to counter Silicon Valley's control.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
“Washington is supposed to be a counterweight, to keep the captain of industries honest. So far, they haven’t done enough.”
What we tested: So far, Washington has not done enough as a counterweight to keep the captains of industry honest.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
“But if the White House treats tech CEOs like rock stars, those rock stars are going to call the shots.”
What we tested: If the White House treats tech CEOs like rock stars, those CEOs will determine AI policy.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
“Particularly since Silicon Valley is prone to hype, Washington needs independent scientists in the room.”
What we tested: Because Silicon Valley is prone to hype, Washington needs independent scientists involved in AI policy discussions.
Assessment: UnresolvedSaid
“I grew more and more frustrated that when it came to AI, we just weren’t going to get the legislation we needed.”
What we tested: The US was not going to get the AI legislation it needed.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
“Schumer has had something like nine closed door meetings on AI, but (to my knowledge) yet to bring a single AI-related piece of legislation to the Senate floor. If he doesn’t, we are sitting ducks.”
What we tested: If Schumer does not bring AI-related legislation to the Senate floor, we will be sitting ducks, meaning highly vulnerable.
Assessment: ContradictedSaid
“Over a year ago in The Atlantic, I urged that we come up with laws and new technological responses to blunt the impact of AI-generated misinformation. So far almost nothing has been done.”
What we tested: Almost nothing has been done through laws or technology to blunt the impact of AI-generated misinformation.
What happened: The ruling applied existing consent and disclosure protections to AI-generated voice calls and became effective on release. It was a concrete federal response relevant to deceptive impersonation calls, subject to statutory exemptions. (Federal Communications Commission, )
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
“We waited too long.”
What we tested: We waited too long to act against AI-generated misinformation and deepfakes in elections.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
“One of the major themes of Taming Silicon Valley is the need for independent oversight; as the old proverb so rightly puts it, the fox can’t guard the henhouse.”
What we tested: AI needs independent oversight rather than self-regulation by the tech industry.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
“It’s almost impossible to envision the independence we might need when nobody in Washington knows where they will be come January, and pots of gold await in the Bay Area.”
What we tested: It is almost impossible to envision the independence we might need in Washington when nobody there knows where they will be come January and lucrative jobs await in the Bay Area.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
“Every one of us should be worried.”
What we tested: Every one of us should be worried about Washington remaining in Silicon Valley's thrall, elections under siege, widespread deepfake scams, and no AI law having passed.
Held from this post (2)
These records did not pass every check, so nothing about them is published. Held is not a finding.
- The record does not meet the current rules. Our reading, not assessed: The new government AI commission, largely made up of tech CEOs, amounts to regulatory capture.
- The criteria are ambiguous. Our reading, not assessed: To Marcus's knowledge, Schumer has held about nine closed-door AI meetings but has not brought any AI legislation to the Senate floor.