Two Years Ago Today in AI History: The Tale of An About-face in AI Regulation
We recorded 13 claims from this post. 9 were checked against evidence. 4 can’t be checked. 6 more are held. Read the post at its source.
Claims from this post (13)
In the order they appear in the post. Each quotation is the speaker’s words in this post. A label such as “Supported” or “Can’t be checked” is the claim’s current assessment; its page has the evidence and the reasons.
Assessment: ContradictedSaid
Observation
“Absolutely nothing is being done about AI-generated misinformation, political or medical.”
Our reading: Nothing is being done about political or medical AI-generated misinformation.
No horizon Evidence as of
Limitation: The measure targets caller authentication and transmission practices, not every form of misinformation.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
Observation
“AI-fueled discrimination in job decisions is likely far more rampant than before.”
Our reading: AI-fueled discrimination in job decisions is likely far more widespread in 2025 than in 2023.
No horizon
Assessment: UnresolvedSaid
Observation
“We have no concretely implemented international AI governance, no national AI agency; we are no longer even positioned well to detect and address AI-escalated cybercrime.”
Our reading: As of May 2025, there is no concretely implemented international AI governance and no US national AI agency, and the US is no longer even well positioned to detect and address AI-escalated cybercrime.
No horizon Evidence as of
Limitation: The OECD article is retrospective and carries an authors' views disclaimer.
Assessment: UnresolvedSaid
Observation
“By many accounts, AI-fueled scams have exploded, too, and again there is no coherent federal response.”
Our reading: By many accounts, AI-fueled scams have exploded, and there is no coherent US federal response to them.
No horizon Evidence as of
Limitation: Vendor detection data can change with customer coverage and detection methods.
Assessment: MixedSaid
Observation
“Congress has failed to pass any meaningful AI regulation, and even worse, they are now actively aiming to prevent States — probably our last hope — from passing anything meaningful.”
Our reading: Congress has passed no meaningful AI regulation and is trying to prevent states from passing meaningful AI regulation.
No horizon Evidence as of
Limitation: Congressional passage does not establish enactment or that the bill's duties were already in force.
Assessment: MixedSaid
Observation
“Government officials aren’t worrying out loud about the risks of AI, anymore. They are downplaying them.”
Our reading: US government officials now downplay rather than voice concern about AI risks.
No horizon Evidence as of
Limitation: The Federal Reserve is part of the federal government but does not speak for the administration.
Assessment: ContradictedSaid
Observation
“Now he is doing everything he can to stop AI regulation of any meaningful sort.”
Our reading: Sam Altman is doing everything he can to stop meaningful AI regulation.
No horizon Evidence as of
Limitation: OpenAI's endorsement establishes an institutional position, not a separate personal endorsement by Altman or his private beliefs.
Assessment: SupportedSaid
Observation
“(He also said at the time “we think that content creators, content owners, need to benefit from this technology” but ever since his company has been pushing for free training materials and exemption from copyright laws.)”
Our reading: Since 2023 OpenAI has pushed for free training materials and exemption from copyright law, contrary to Altman's stated support for content creators.
No horizon Evidence as of
Limitation: Fair use is part of copyright law; calling it an exemption from copyright laws is imprecise.
Assessment: SupportedSaid
Observation
“And even as Altman was telling Congress that he supported AI regulation, his company was lobbying the EU to water down its AI act.”
Our reading: While Altman publicly supported AI regulation in 2023, OpenAI lobbied to water down the EU AI Act.
No horizon Evidence as of
Limitation: The temporal reading is material: a requirement for an EU weakening request on the exact hearing date would remain unresolved.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
Forecast
“The cost to humanity of being beguiled by this man may turn out to be enormous.”
Our reading: Being beguiled by Sam Altman may turn out to have an enormous cost to humanity.
No horizon
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
Observation
“All talk about regulation has been replaced by talk about innovation, which is really shorthand for help the companies as much as possible, no matter what it costs the citizenry.”
Our reading: US government AI discourse has replaced regulation with 'innovation', meaning helping companies regardless of cost to citizens.
No horizon
Assessment: ContradictedSaid
Observation
“The shift in norms has extended to our government, too; gone are the days when Washington was afraid of the risks of AI enough to seriously consider doing anything about them.”
Our reading: Washington no longer seriously considers acting on AI risks.
No horizon Evidence as of
Limitation: Targeted measures do not establish comprehensive regulation of frontier AI developers.
Assessment: Can’t be checkedSaid
Forecast
“Gone too is a chance to avoid what Senators from Blumenthal to Graham warned about: a repeat of the mess of social media, in which big tech got its way, and society was left paying the consequences.”
Our reading: The chance to avoid AI repeating social media's regulatory failure, where big tech got its way at society's expense, is gone.
No horizon
Held from this post (6)
These records did not pass every check, so nothing about them is published. Held is not a finding.
- The two reviews reached different assessments. Our reading, not assessed: Republicans as a whole are far more resistant to AI regulation in 2025 than they were in 2023, and voices like Josh Hawley, who seemed sincerely interested in how to regulate AI, are now drowned out by the administration's across-the-board anti-regulatory turn.
- The two reviews reached different assessments. Our reading, not assessed: When Sam Altman returned to the Senate the week before this May 16, 2025 post, he sang an entirely different tune from 2023, effectively trying to block AI regulation at every turn, and he is no longer talking about AI regulation but actively resisting it.
- Attribution is uncertain
- The two reviews read the claim differently
- The two reviews read the claim differently
- The two reviews read the claim differently