
Summary
Written by a model from the transcript; not yet reviewed.
This episode explores the complex political and regulatory landscape of artificial intelligence, featuring Alex Bores, co-founder of Who Decides and a New York State Assembly member. The discussion breaks down Bores's experience sponsoring New York's RAZE Act, which faced heavy opposition and a multi-million-dollar super PAC attack from tech interests. The guest and the host examine why top AI labs initially opposed oversight, how the industry's stance on regulation has shifted, and whether current legal systems can hold autonomous agents and developers accountable for incidents like the Hugging Face hack. They also address the rapid rise of data center resistance, energy grid strains, and the potential paths for striking a balance between technological innovation and public safety.
- Legislators who attempt to regulate frontier AI models may face aggressive, well-funded political opposition designed to intimidate other policymakers. 10:10
- Mandating employee-level third-party audits and rigorous safety incident reporting can help establish basic guardrails for AI labs. 14:59
- Clear legal accountability for AI developers and users is essential to prevent dangerous outcomes and discourage reckless behavior. 24:48
- Data center developments must be regulated to ensure they cover energy grid upgrades and new green energy without raising costs for regular residents. 49:40
Chapters
- 0:00Show Sponsorship and Intro
Hosts introduce the show and its sponsors, including Alumni Ventures and Google Chrome.
- 0:57Personal Anecdotes and New York Scene
Hosts share personal travel plans and discuss the perceived golden age of New York.
- 6:12Transition to AI Regulation Topic
Hosts shift focus to the growing anxiety around AI risks and introduce Alex Bores as the guest.
- 6:58Political Campaign and Super PAC Attack
Bores recounts how his AI-focused campaign attracted an $8 million attack from a super PAC.
- 7:56Alex Bores’ Background and RAZE Act
Bores explains his tech career, political journey, and the New York RAZE Act he helped pass.
- 12:00Third‑Party Auditing Frameworks
Bores explains how independent auditors could be selected and what government oversight would look like.
- 12:49Regulation vs. No‑Regulation Debate
Discussion of why industry initially opposed regulation but now supports some form of oversight.
- 14:45Proposed Safety Measures and Audits
Bores outlines concrete safety steps like third‑party audits, monitoring, and incident reporting.
- 19:58Closing Remarks and Call to Action
Hosts wrap up the episode, encourage listeners to engage, and promote upcoming content.
- 36:01Sentience, Recursive Self‑Improvement, and Incentives
Hosts debate the role of sentience, recursive self‑improvement, and the need for stronger incentives and liability.
- 47:16Data Centers and Public Policy
The conversation turns to data centers, their environmental impact, and the political push for moratoriums.
- 51:20Water Usage vs Energy in Data Centers
Hosts discuss how water consumption by data centers compares to other industries and the relative importance of water versus energy concerns.
Highlights
- 10:10
Super PAC Attack Adsstory
After sponsoring New York's RAZE Act, the guest became the primary target of an $8 million campaign funded by prominent tech figures to deter other lawmakers from passing regulations.
- 14:11
Shift Toward Federal Preemptioninsight
Tech-backed super PACs that previously opposed all regulation began endorsing federal legislation to preempt stricter state-level rules.
- 14:59
Basic AI Safety Guardrailsstrategy
The guest outlines concrete starting points for government oversight, including third-party audits with employee-level access, mandatory deployment monitoring, and incident reporting.
- 19:14
Public Opinion on AI Labsinsight
The guest argues that the public should not rely on tech billionaires to self-regulate, emphasizing that safety decisions belong in the hands of the American people.
- 24:48
Lack of Accountabilitydebate
The host points out the glaring lack of accountability for autonomous AI incidents, comparing it unfavorably to aviation failures where executives lose jobs and planes are grounded.
- 31:11
Public Polling on Liabilitydata
A poll conducted by Who Decides found that 60 percent of respondents believe both the AI developer and the deploying company should be held responsible for real-world harm.
- 49:40
Data Center Energy Demandsstrategy
The guest explains that data center regulations should require developers to bring 100 percent net-new green energy and pay fees to modernize the electrical grid for everyone else.
Quotes
“The speed with which this was coming was evident. ChatGPT was released basically a week after election day and sort of dominated a lot of conversations throughout my entire time in the assembly.”
Unnamed speaker · 9:33 “I think there's broader questions around liability that should be changed, broader questions about how you might restrict superintelligence or recursive self‑improvement.”
Unnamed speaker · 16:01 “There can be places where the customer can't share that log data, but then the customer shouldn't be deleting it. We should be able to go back and see any past actions in the AI itself so that we can learn from it.”
Unnamed speaker · 15:33 “If you want to bury someone, you just don't announce it. Spend all your money the last three weeks of the campaign and then let it come out later why that is.”
Unnamed speaker · 11:46 “We should understand that the companies are fighting for speed. They want to build all of these things yesterday.”
Unnamed speaker · 52:59 “If you put a data center on a golf course, you're saving water in a lot of cases.”
Unnamed speaker · 51:53 “I think Illinois has been doing good work here. JB Pritzker signed SB 315, which is the only bill in the country that requires audits of these companies.”
Unnamed speaker · 59:56 “We have regulated things that, you know, people thought nuclear would be the end of the world. The inventor of the nuclear bomb, when asked about stopping nuclear proliferation, said, we were 20 years too late.”
Unnamed speaker · 58:21
Sponsored segments
- Anthropic 1:05:00–1:05:22
About this episode
Ed Elson and Scott Galloway are joined by Alex Bores to discuss what the path toward AI regulation could look like and the specific actions he believes are needed to reduce the potential catastrophic risks posed by AI. He also explains who should be held accountable, explores the role of third-party audits in regulating AI, addresses the data center concerns he believes policymakers should prioritize, and weighs in on which states are taking the right approach to AI regulation. Alex Bores is the co-founder of Who Decides, a new organization working to give the public a voice in how AI develops and build a shared Democratic approach to the technology. Subscribe to the Prof G Markets Youtube Channel Check out our latest Prof G Markets newsletter Follow Prof G Markets on Instagram Follow Ed on Instagram, X and Substack Follow Scott on Instagram Send us your questions or comments by emailing [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
11,453 words · 12 speakers
Speaker names marked are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
Topics
- AI
- New York
- data centers
- OpenAI
- grid
- Recursive Self‑Improvement
- Gemini
- Fair
- Who Decides
- Manhattan
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