OpenAI has proposed new industrial policy guidelines which it suggests will help governments manage the disruption caused by AI.

In the report titled Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age: Ideas to Keep People First, Open AI highlights their ideas for policy change, but notes that real change requires broader collaboration to ensure superintelligence can benefit all. 

The report calls for a coordinated framework across government, industries and society, that supports innovation while addressing the disruption that AI is set to cause to organisations, labour markets and global economies. 

Managing Disruption While Capitalising on Opportunities

Central to the report is a “people-first” approach which OpenAI suggests will “expand opportunity, share prosperity, and build resilient institutions”. OpenAI noted that while they believe the benefits of AI will outweigh the drawbacks, jobs and industries will be disrupted and strategies need to be put in place now to manage the risks. 

Jobs will be lost, businesses will go under and new skills will emerge, without careful intervention OpenAI warns that the benefits of AI may only be concentrated on a small proportion of individuals and organisations. 

“There is also a risk that the economic gains concentrate within a small number of firms like OpenAI”, the report noted.

As AI moves towards superintelligence, OpenAI has suggested these people-first policies will ensure legislation keeps pace with technological change. OpenAI suggested new policies should have three main aims; to ‘share prosperity broadly’, ‘mitigate risks’ and ‘democratize access and agency’. 

With AI set to have such a significant impact, robust policy must set guardrails for use. 

Building an Open Economy and Resilient Society

We are entering the “Intelligence Age”, where access to computational power and advanced models becomes a foundational economic input, similar to energy in the Industrial Age. OpenAI suggests that as with any other major, progressive technology, long-term investment, cross-sector collaboration and regulation are required. 

The report noted: “While those transitions ultimately created more prosperity, they required proactive political choices to ensure that growth translated into broader opportunity and greater security”.

OpenAI identified a number of bottlenecks which could inhibit progress. These included supply chain issues such as demand for energy, data centres and deployment infrastructure, and talent shortages and the demand for skilled AI professionals. Other components such as access to quality and quantity of data were also noted as key enablers in successful AI deployment.

Safety and regulation also pose risks to AI advancement, suggesting a fine balance must be struck between encouraging innovation and minimising the potential harms of the technology. 

“Without thoughtful policies, AI could widen inequality”, the report warned. 

OpenAI suggested their recommendations prioritised collaboration, giving a voice to everyone from the government to individual workers, as to how AI is developed and embedded safely. 

The report laid out specific methods of building an open economy and resilient society.

Key schemes outlined in the proposals included modernising the tax system, creating a public wealth fund and moving to a four-day working week. 

The report highlighted “new mechanisms to share returns from AI-driven growth by expanding access to capital, sharing economic gains more widely, and aligning the benefits of AI-enabled growth with higher living standards” as one method of maximising the benefits of AI. 

Additionally, modernising the tax base through novel ideas such as exploring new “taxes related to automated labor” were also discussed.

OpenAI identified that a Public Wealth Fund should be created, “that provides every citizen—including those not invested in financial markets—with a stake in AI-driven economic growth”. 

Infrastructure was another key focus of the report. OpenAI noted that the grid expansion needed to be accelerated to ensure AI benefits could be realised. This would require us to establish “new public-private partnership models to finance and accelerate the expansion of energy infrastructure required to power AI”.

OpenAI made the case for aligning public and private sector activities across research funding, workforce development, market-shaping tools, and regulation. The report suggested non-government organisations should trial new ways of working, which are carefully assessed and refined, and thereafter rolled out to the government as appropriate. This would involve trialling four-day working weeks, which would be enabled by AI.

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Resilience in society focused on safety and regulation. 

OpenAI highlighted the need for safety practises built into AI products to manage emerging risks, and research and development for systems that would help people build trust in AI.

Throughout, OpenAI calls for closer collaboration between governments, private companies and the public sector, particularly in areas such as funding, workforce development and regulation. 

Strong policies coupled with trials of new ways of working will help society adapt to AI more effectively. Throughout the report, what is evident is that superintelligence will not just create changes in technology capabilities, but in society as a whole. 

OpenAI warned of the risks of waiting to act, suggesting by rolling out policy and change now, organisations can shape how AI is embedded in society, manage risks and capitalise on the advantages for more people.