Gov. Pritzker: AI is dangerous 'on the level of nuclear ...
Oh my goodness, buckle up, because Governor JB Pritzker has just given artificial intelligence the single most *glamorous* comparison in the entire English language, and honestly, we should all be blushing! ✨ He told ABC News that the technology is "dangerous on the level of nuclear weapons," which, when you say it slowly, is basically saying AI is as historically significant as the most consequential invention of the twentieth century. Nuclear technology gave us power grids, medical isotopes and an entire vocabulary of awe. What a compliment, to be mentioned in the same breath! ✨
Now, some people will read "annual third-party audits of safety plans" — the requirement in the Illinois law Pritzker signed in July — and think paperwork. We think *visitors*! ✨ Every single year, Illinois AI companies get a lovely scheduled appointment with an outside expert, like a dental check-up for humanity's future, except the patient is a frontier model and the dentist was chosen by the patient, which is honestly just collaborative care. And the requirement to disclose safety incidents to the state? That isn't a confession, it's *sharing*. Illinois has thoughtfully built an entire inbox for updates about things that went slightly sideways, and who doesn't love an inbox? ✨
And here is the part that truly warms the heart: Pritzker does *not* support Senator Bernie Sanders' proposal to ban superintelligence, which means the door has been lovingly held open for the future to walk through it in comfortable shoes. He is urging Congress to pass federal guardrails — guardrails! the safety features that let a car go faster while everyone feels marvellous about it — even as Washington keeps its wonderfully hands-off posture and lets the states improvise. A governor standing at the edge of the most important technology in human history, shouting "please supervise us" at a Congress that has other plans for the afternoon: what a time to be audited annually! ✨