TL;DR: In response to the escalating capabilities and associated risks of advanced AI systems, we advocate for the implementation of an “AI Driver’s Licence” policy. Our proposal is informed by existing licencing frameworks and existing AI legislation. This initiative mandates that users of advanced AI systems must obtain a licence, ensuring they have undergone minimal technical and ethical training The licence requirements would be defined by an international regulatory body, such as the ISO, to maintain consistent and up-to-date standards globally. Independent organisations would issue the licences, while local governments would enforce compliance through audits and penalties. By focusing on the usage stage of the AI lifecycle, this policy aims to mitigate misuse risks , contributing to a safer AI landscape. Our proposal complements existing regulations and emphasises the need for international cooperation to effectively manage the deployment and usage of advanced AI technologies.

Current governance approaches regulate developer and deployers of AI systems. Our policy proposal of users being required to have an AI driver's licence also affects users. — Current governance approaches regulate developer and deployers of AI systems. Our policy proposal of users being required to have an AI driver's licence also affects the user side.

Introduction

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, claims we need “a new agency that licences any effort above a certain scale of capabilities and could take that licence away and ensure compliance with safety standards” (Wheeler, 2023).

Licencing has a long history, with key success stories in protecting the safety of the public by controlling access to potentially harmful activities and items. However, in some cases it has also resulted in adverse effects, driving large parts of industries to the black market, an entirely unregulated space.

Today, we face an uncertain and rapidly changing AI landscape, with AI tools and models capable of increasingly broad and self-determined actions. Many have written about the catastrophic scenarios that may unfold if AI is not appropriately regulated, and experts continue to ascribe higher chances of seeing these scenarios play out.

A safe AI landscape necessarily involves various legally enforceable regulations, applied at all stages of the AI life cycle. We can think of this body of cooperating regulations as a Swiss cheese model. This model suggests that multiple layers of regulations acting on various different aspects of the issue at hand, although individually imperfect,...

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