The Irish Times view on artificial intelligence: self-regulation is a dangerous myth - The Irish Times

So The Irish Times editorial board has decided to call out the 'dangerous myth' of AI self-regulation, noting with characteristic understatement that 'voluntary codes and industry promises' are about as effective as a chocolate teapot when dealing with technology that can 'reshape entire economies and societies.' They point to the wedge between US and EU approaches, with the White House apparently still buying what the tech giants are selling while Brussels has actually passed binding legislation. One might think this would be obvious by now, but apparently some people still need to be told that asking foxes to guard henhouses doesn't end well for the chickens.

The editorial specifically highlights how Anthropic's Claude Mythos release has become a 'wedge issue' between regulatory philosophies, with the US accepting self-regulation arguments that would make even a used car salesman blush. The Irish Times notes drily that while the EU has its AI Act with actual enforcement mechanisms, the US approach relies on 'voluntary codes' that have all the binding force of a New Year's resolution made after three glasses of champagne. They observe that 'the gap between rhetoric and reality is becoming a chasm,' which is a polite way of saying the emperor has no clothes, but everyone's pretending otherwise to avoid awkwardness.

What's particularly delicious is how this editorial lands just as the White House prepares to deploy a 'modified version' of that same Mythos model to federal agencies, despite an executive ban on its use. The cognitive dissonance is breathtaking: we'll trust companies to regulate themselves, except when we won't, except when we will again. It's almost as if the entire regulatory approach is being made up on the fly by people who've never met a lobbyist they didn't like. The editorial concludes that 'self-regulation is not regulation at all'—a statement so obvious it shouldn't need making, yet here we are, watching the same dangerous dance play out while everyone pretends the music isn't getting faster.