Coinbase CEO opposes AI regulation, calls for industry decentralisation

The CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, spoke out against regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) and called for decentralisation of the industry.

“AI should not be regulated. We need to make progress on this issue as quickly as possible for many reasons (including national security). The track record of regulation is that it has unintended consequences and kills competition/innovation, despite best intentions,” he wrote.

Armstrong proposed decentralisation and open-sourcing as an alternative.

“We have enjoyed a golden age of software and internet innovation largely due to the absence of regulation. We should proceed similarly with AI,” added the Coinbase CEO.

In April, the US National AI Advisory Committee urged President Joe Biden to speed up regulation of the industry. To this end the agency recommended appointing key roles and creating new organisations.

In May, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, testifying before the US Congress, urged the government to regulate the use and development of artificial intelligence.

In the same month he stated that the company would leave the European market if it could not comply with the future AI Act.