Computing Power and the Governance of Artificial Intelligence

Claims that cite this source · 3

1. Source assertion· confidence high· passage checked

   Compute is an unusually effective governance intervention point because it is detectable, excludable and quantifiable and comes from a concentrated supply chain; compute governance can also threaten privacy, economic outcomes, and centralize power.

   Used in: Compute, Compute controls, Concentration of power

2. Synthesis· confidence medium· passage checked

   Concentration of power over AI's inputs and decisions is itself a governance problem, not only a side effect of unsafe systems.

   Used in: Competitive race dynamics, Compute controls, Concentration of power

3. Interpretation· confidence medium· passage checked

   None of the definitions compared here lists incentives or infrastructure among what it governs; they govern AI itself, its lifecycle, or an organisation’s use of it. The idea is not new, though: the UN advisory body says governance frameworks should “shape incentives globally”, Japan’s guidelines run agile governance across systems that include infrastructure, and Sastry et al. treat compute as one tool of AI governance. Naming incentives, institutions, infrastructures and safeguards together as the objects of governance is AIGovSpec’s own synthesis.