Without binding international agreements, nations will race to deploy dangerous AI systems first, and no single country can unilaterally slow development without falling behind militarily and economically. We need coordinated global rules like we have for nuclear weapons, environmental toxins, and pharmaceuticals—AI's risks to employment, inequality, and global security are too high to leave to corporate profit motives.
AI progresses too fast for bureaucratic treaties to keep pace, and enforcing them across nations with different interests is nearly impossible. Heavy-handed restrictions will just push innovation to less scrupulous actors while hobbling the companies and democracies willing to play by the rules. Competition and transparency in open markets have proven the best drivers of both innovation and safety.