Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser visited the University of Colorado Boulder this past Tuesday to deliver a sobering but hopeful message to the next generation of scientific leaders in an era characterized by swift technical advancements that surpass the speed of the law. Speaking to a packed room of quantum scholars, Weiser stressed that the real issue of the twenty-first century is not only the advancement of artificial intelligence and quantum computing, but also our ability as a society to control these forces before they threaten the foundations of civilization.
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A Comparative History of Railroads and Qubits
Weiser, the dean emeritus of the CU Boulder Law School, prefaced his address by drawing a comparison to the 1860s. During that time, the railroad and telegraph changed how people understood distance and connectivity. He pointed out that the current shift is far more significant, even if persons going through such changes frequently lack the perspective to fully appreciate their scope.
Weiser said, drawing a comparison between the pupils’ digital-native environment and the pre-internet world he grew up in. “We know how this world is different.” However, none of us can entirely predict how coming technologies like AI and quantum will bring about yet another change. One of the issues of the present that differs slightly from those of 1860 is that the tools we need to rule are undermining our ability to govern ourselves.
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The Governance Gap and the “Third Leg” of Science
In conjunction with the Quantum Scholars program, the CU Boulder Department of Physics and College of Engineering and Applied Science hosted the talk. Through industrial involvement and professional development, the program prepares undergraduates from physics, mathematics, engineering, and computer science for the quantum workforce.
During his presentation, Noah Finkelstein, a co-director of the program and a distinguished professor of physics, pointed out that although the program has addressed innovation’s past, present, and future, it has not yet addressed policy. Weiser reiterated Finkelstein’s description of policy as the “third leg” of advancing the general and quantum sciences throughout his speech.
Weiser identified a major “embarrassment” in contemporary national public policy: the profound dysfunction and lack of responsiveness of organizations entrusted with controlling the hazards associated with social media, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies. He gave the example of Anthropic’s Mythos AI model, which can identify and take advantage of software weaknesses. Due to the model’s possible risks to international cybersecurity, the corporation has notably refrained from making it public.
Weiser contended that this circumstance poses an important question, is the firm behaving out of true social duty because there is no national regulatory framework, or is it a premeditated marketing ploy to generate demand for protection against the exact thing they invented? The example highlights a government that is presently “unable to come to terms” with the rapidity of technological progress, regardless of the purpose.
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Ethics in the Age of “Ethical Capitalism”
The Attorney General was questioned by the students in attendance, including those from mathematics and aerospace engineering, on how they could affect change inside the IT sector. First-year math major Saksham Hassanandani voiced concerns about working for businesses that would put profit ahead of morality.
Weiser responded by urging pupils to reject immoral conduct as a “steady state.” He revealed that Meta is presently being sued by his office over social media platform designs that were purportedly known to cause harm to consumers. He suggested that the academics look for “ethical capitalism,” in which businesses take good care of their clients and treat employees decently. Weiser advised them to be explicit about their own ethical boundaries and push for internal change if they are in an unethical setting.
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The Battle for Truth and Information
The growing threat of false information produced by AI also came up. Third-year aeronautical engineering student Grace Kallberg requested personal tactics to stop the propagation of misleading information.
Weiser’s counsel focused on the “habits of mind” necessary for contemporary citizenship. He pointed out that today’s pupils are “swimming” in unfiltered, artificial intelligence-generated stuff, in contrast to his age, who depended on editors to verify information. “How do I know this is true?” is a question he urged every pupil to ask all the time.
“What each of you can do is wrestle with the problem that you and others face: How do I know this is true?” Weiser stated. “After that, incorporate that discipline into your mental habits.”
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Looking Forward
As the meeting came to an end, the message was still quite clear: the development of quantum physics is inextricably linked to the ethics and policies that govern its application. Weiser suggested that, in the same way that international organizations were established to manage nuclear hazards, new global frameworks might be required for AI and quantum technology, drawing a comparison between the contemporary threat posed by AI and the historical threat posed by nuclear weapons.
More than just solving complicated equations, CU Boulder’s Quantum Scholars are now expected to act as moral pillars in a society that is changing quickly. Weiser hopes that by encouraging a culture of inquiry and critical thinking, these upcoming innovators will contribute to the creation of the very institutions that are presently lacking in the country.
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