AI and the Future of Presidential Power

The President’s power flows through the millions of employees of the executive branch, who collectively act as a check on that power: Legal and ethical norms observed by executive branch officials provide meaningful bulwarks against orders to engage in illegal or immoral actions. What happens, though, as the executive branch starts to delegate its work to highly autonomous AI systems? From surveillance and military operations to benefits decisions, AI could expand presidential power while weakening the human constraints that help to keep the executive accountable and preserve a reasonable equilibrium of power between the branches. Preserving meaningful oversight may require Congress to place technical requirements on the design of government AI systems themselves, thereby helping courts and other institutions hold the executive accountable through technical mechanisms that substitute for the current system’s reliance on conscience, behavioral norms, and reputational sanctions.

Join the HLS AI Association for a discussion with Professors Ketan Ramakrishnan and Garrett West about their forthcoming paper, The Constitution of Artificial Intelligence, moderated by Professor Jack Goldsmith.