Stacey Rolland
Published in Diplomatic Courier, https://www.diplomaticourier.com/posts/women-crucial-ai-future-u-s-regulatory-debate
MARCH 11, 2024
Women distrust AI more than men do, according to an Axios survey, and with good reason. Women are disproportionately impacted by AI disruption and risk while also being underrepresented in AI professions—but their perspectives are critical to developing good regulatory policy, writes Stacey Rolland.
The U.S. Senate recently completed a series of AI Insight Forums, dedicating extensive hours to directly educating elected officials through in–depth panels of AI experts and industry stakeholders—an unprecedented commitment focused on the risks of one technological evolution. This rare intensive exploration of a single topic illustrates the weight and significance the legislative body places on AI’s future.
In the weeks ahead, guided by a report distilling key learnings, multiple Senate committees will be directed to advance AI–centric legislation across multiple areas of jurisdiction, with meaningful action throughout March and April. The goal, according to Senate leaders, will be to collect the most viable proposals from each committee to create a comprehensive approach to regulating artificial intelligence in the United States.
Whether the “world’s greatest deliberative body” can accomplish such an ambitious feat in a consequential election year is debatable; time will soon tell whether meaningful action can be achieved. What is clear: There is significant momentum behind regulating artificial intelligence, sparked by a deep distrust of the dangers of rapid, unchecked technological advances.
Women share this distrust of AI. In an Axios/Morning Consult survey, 53% of women said they wouldn’t let their children use AI products, compared with 26% of men. There is good cause to be distrustful. Women are predicted to be disproportionately impacted by AI automation, with CNN reporting that 79% of working women are in occupations at risk of disruption, compared with 58% of men. What’s more, women and girls are more likely to be targets of AI–enabled crimes like explicit deepfakes.
Not only are they disproportionately impacted by AI disruption and risk, women are underrepresented in AI professions, making up only around a quarter of the global AI workforce. This lack of diversity not only perpetuates gender inequality but also limits the very potential of AI. A diverse workforce across the AI ecosystem can help address and prevent biases within AI systems. It can bring varied perspectives invaluable for identifying blind spots and brainstorming innovative solutions extending beyond conventional approaches, thereby driving positive change.
Not only are women needed in the AI workforce, but their voices and perspectives are necessary in developing the federal policies that will shape the future of AI in the United States.
Hod Lipson, director of Columbia University’s Creative Machines Lab, says about AI: “Don’t fear, steer.” Because of their disproportionate impact, women should embrace emerging technologies, fight for training and upskilling in the technologies of the future, and, just as importantly, use their voices to influence policies that help direct the course of emerging technologies for the better.
In the short term, Congress can strengthen and modernize laws that protect women and children from digital threats and the deceptive lures of dark patterns, which are digital design practices that manipulate users into sharing data or acting in ways they did not intend. Congress can incentivize corporate accountability policies that anticipate and mitigate more immediate economic impacts, such as equitable career development programs to train for skills that AI cannot replicate, establishing a resilient workforce in the face of tech disruptions.
Over the long term, a sustainable approach to AI regulation must account for the necessity of closing the gender gap in science and technology fields. This is not merely a moral imperative but also an economic one, fostering innovation and mitigating workforce imbalances caused by automation.
By addressing these issues, the U.S. can realize a future where women are not only well–represented in our AI future but are influential voices in developing legislation that sets the direction for the growth of the emerging tech industry.
The Axios/Morning Consult survey found 44% of women believed regulation of AI would not even be possible, compared to 23% of men. Women have good reason to distrust policymakers’ ability to address short– and long–term AI risks. The influence of large tech players has long dominated the discourse around regulation. In public hearings and remarks, elected officials have increasingly expressed frustration about their own inaction around protecting citizens from social media harms; pointing to these learned lessons as justification for developing a more robust approach to artificial intelligence regulation.
Unfortunately, these years of regulatory inaction by Congress on tech dangers have engendered public resignation—the belief that Congress will not act on critical issues. This can profoundly impact civic engagement, limiting widespread public involvement in policymaking, in which a small number of the largest stakeholders can have outsized influence. To counter this, Congress must hear diverse viewpoints as a catalyst for legislative movement.
The discourse on AI regulation must extend beyond Capitol hallways to our virtual main street of small AI developers and service providers, many of whom are women and will employ women. Focusing on diverse stakeholders is strategic; it encourages more effective and future–proofed policies that benefit a broader swath of the economy and ensures that AI’s disruptive potential is harnessed to empower, rather than marginalize, women as essential contributors to our emerging technological future.