Constitutional Intelligence

If Artificial Intelligence were an angel, there’d be no need for its governance. That’s a 21st-century updating of James Madison’s famous dictum from the 18th century: In Federalist 51 he wrote, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” Nothing man-made is angelic. A.I. is no exception.   

We don’t all need to be experts on A.I. to survive and flourish, but we need some experts, duly elected or otherwise rightly chosen, looking out for our interests. None of the experts will be angels, either, and so we’ll also have to keep an eye on them. It’s heartening to know that Americans were born with a great tool for guiding A.I.’s impact: The U.S. Constitution, which we celebrate on September 17, Constitution Day.  Over the last 234 years, the Constitution has proven itself equal to the challenge of managing non-angels, both human and man-made.