Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, the two well-known authors of the "AI Snake Oil" project, have just published a new essay in their "AI as Normal Technology" series, outlining eight key points on how the world should view and regulate AI. The core thesis of the essay asserts that AI should be treated like any other general-purpose technology in history, such as electricity or the steam engine, rather than as an exceptional entity requiring extreme and special regulatory controls.
Background
In the essay, the authors point out that there is currently a general consensus among economists that AI has so far been a "normal" technology in terms of economic impact. The hype surrounding existential risks—which are often sci-fi speculations—has led to calls for unconventional government interventions. However, Narayanan argues that the real-world risks of AI, such as bias, copyright infringement, or safety concerns, can be fully addressed by strictly enforcing existing sector-specific legal frameworks.
The authors emphasize that treating AI as "exceptional" could inadvertently erect barriers to entry for newcomers, reinforcing the monopoly of tech giants through regulatory capture. Instead of focusing on vague future harms, the essay calls for attention to improving data quality, protecting labor rights, and ensuring fair competition. This stands as a strong counterargument to the lobbying efforts of AI companies seeking to have governments establish complex licensing regimes.
Why It Matters
In Vietnam, where legal frameworks and national AI strategies are still taking shape, these insights from the Princeton experts offer a valuable reference. Rather than chasing defensive regulatory trends modeled after Western apocalyptic scenarios, Vietnamese policymakers should focus on more practical issues: protecting user data, safeguarding copyrights for Vietnamese-language content, and promoting transparency in credit scoring or recruitment algorithms.
A "normalized AI" approach will help domestic businesses and startups feel more confident in experimenting with and adopting the technology. It lowers anxiety over excessively high regulatory barriers while redirecting investment toward solving tangible, local challenges instead of getting bogged down in philosophical questions about existential risk.