Artificial intelligence is the most important innovation we have seen in a generation, with the transformative power to address society’s most complex problems and create entirely new economies. This is very similar to what we saw with the advent of the printing press, electricity, and the internet.
This is such a huge moment that it would be short-sighted to ignore the power of collaboration across the AI ecosystem, and the possibilities and possibilities that arise from it. That’s what unites us: a shared understanding of what this moment requires and the role that innovators large and small can play in expanding opportunity and maintaining economic competitiveness. Both of our companies believe that little tech and big tech can work together to build a broader innovation ecosystem and collaborate on public policy initiatives.
We may not both agree on everything, but this is not about our differences. It is the policy choices, or failures, we make now that will determine whether the United States can continue its long and proud history of fostering innovation and seeing the success of startups, small businesses, and entrepreneurs. It is important to jointly recognize that. After all, we both know a thing or two about the little guy working from his garage to achieve greatness. That’s Microsoft’s story and a16z’s mission.
We both strongly believe that there is a tremendous opportunity when it comes to AI, and that the way forward is to foster innovation and foster competition to build a new AI economy. The best way to foster innovation while ensuring safety and security is through a variety of responsible, market-based approaches and business models, including open source AI. Open source models have made essential contributions to significant advances in technology and research for decades. Often reducing or eliminating power imbalances between mainstream institutions and unruly start-ups, allowing academic and start-up communities to gain greater access and build on existing knowledge. We have provided genuine knowledge as well as knowledge. -Time peer review.
A16z views competition and innovation through the lens of little tech: small businesses and startups. A16z published the Little Tech Policy Agenda in July, proposing a set of policy ideas to foster AI innovation through regulations that create a level playing field for all industries. The Little Tech Agenda’s goal is for public policy to support startups and provide entrepreneurs with “the freedom to research, invent, create jobs and build the future.”
Microsoft is committed to making large-scale AI infrastructure investments that only a Big Tech company of our scope and scale can make, building a platform that is affordable and easily accessible to everyone, including startups and small businesses. We are working on this. Investments in these infrastructures are essential to creating opportunities for new businesses to experiment and grow in the AI economy. In February of this year, Microsoft announced a set of principles (called the AI Access Principles) to govern its operations and execute this effort. One of the key tenets that informs Microsoft’s AI Access Principles is the critical need to “drive innovation and competition across the new AI economy.”
Together, we believe in a broad competitive ecosystem that harnesses the potential of academic research and business innovation. This includes the critical role of open source innovation in unlocking the ideas of tomorrow to make everyone and our country safer and more prosperous. . By coming together, we hope to advance innovation and creativity and further realize the highest aspirations and ideals that have defined America for generations. These are the policy goals that will get us there.
Policy opportunities for AI startups
Together, Microsoft and a16z will empower America’s entrepreneurs and innovators to do what they do best: build new tools and businesses that solve problems, create new jobs and opportunities, and enable startups to thrive. Recognizes opportunities to advance public policy. Ensuring that businesses large and small have a seat at the table will better serve the public and accelerate innovation in America. To help AI startups grow, collaborate, and compete, we offer the following policy ideas:
Regulations that promote opportunities for U.S. companies: U.S. AI laws and regulations should support the global success and adoption of U.S. technology companies by promoting access and opportunity. This can be achieved by leveraging a science- and standards-based approach that recognizes a regulatory framework that focuses on the application and misuse of technology. Regulation should only be implemented if its benefits outweigh its costs. When calculating costs, policymakers should include an assessment of the potential costs associated with unnecessary bureaucratic burdens on startups. As new global competition in AI evolves, laws and regulations to reduce the harms of AI will focus on the risks of malicious actors exploiting AI and create new barriers to business formation, growth, and innovation. The aim should be to avoid creating Competition and choice: Enabling choice and broad access fosters innovation and competition in AI. Regulators will allow providers to offer a wide range of proprietary and open source models, large and small, as well as give developers and startups the flexibility to choose the AI models they use when building solutions. We need to make sure that we can do that and not tilt the playing field. Leverage any one platform. Developers should have the freedom to choose how to distribute and sell the AI models, tools, and applications they deploy to their customers. Open Source Innovation: Open source software brings immense value to the economy by fostering innovation ecosystems. It enables technology companies large and small to quickly build their next innovation, providing a wide range of tools to develop software safely, reliably, and competitively. We believe the same is true for open source AI models. These provide more options and allow startups to more easily develop fine-tuned systems and applications. These models are freely available and performant, allowing startups to access, use, and benefit from AI by modifying it to suit their context and diverse needs. Masu. It also promises safety and security benefits, as vulnerabilities can be more extensively scrutinized. Regulators and decision makers must embrace a regulatory framework that protects open source and ensures entrepreneurs, startups, and businesses have the ability to create, build, transform, and win the future. Open Data Commons: Data is a critical input for all AI developers. Governments have a role to play in enabling and developing policies that support a thriving and growing data ecosystem around the world through open data commons – pools of accessible data managed in the public interest. . Governments need to join and lead this effort by publishing datasets in ways that benefit AI cultural institutions and libraries. Governments need to make it easy for startups to access these data pools. Right to Learn: Copyright law is intended to promote the advancement of science and useful arts by extending protection to publishers and authors and encouraging them to make new works and knowledge available to the public. However, this does not come at the expense of your right to learn from it. These works. Copyright law should not be used to imply that machines should be prevented from using the data that is the basis of AI to learn in the same way as humans. Knowledge and unprotected facts must remain free and accessible, regardless of whether they are included in protected subject matter. Invest in AI: The U.S. government should invest in AI to accelerate American innovation, strengthen national security, and create economic opportunity. As part of this investment strategy, the government should review its procurement practices to allow more startups to sell technology to the government. We help people thrive in an AI-enabled world. Building a new AI economy that supports startups and American entrepreneurship requires public policies that foster technical talent and engage digital citizens. To that end, policies should fund digital literacy programs that help people understand how to create and access information using AI tools. We also need to support workforce skills development and retraining programs to help people secure jobs in an AI-driven economy.
We clearly live in turbulent times characterized by disagreements between people and groups. But, as in any era, we must seize the opportunity to find common ground. The United States has built a technology ecosystem that has helped drive the country’s economic growth for more than half a century. As reflected here, we believe that by coming together, Little Tech and Big Tech can contribute even more in the coming decades. We can build on each other’s strengths and together advocate for innovation and public policies that serve the broader interests of our nation.
