Artificial Intelligence and the Carousel of Soft Law

The impulse of so many organizations across nearly every sector of society to promulgate principles in response to the ascendance of artificial intelligence is understandable and predictable. There is some utility in public commitments to universal values in the context of AI, and common principles can lay a foundation for societal change. But ultimately what is missing is not knowledge about the content of ethics as much as political will. If, as both detractors and proponents claim, AI constitutes the transformative technology of our time, then one of the aspects of society that must transform is the law and legal institutions.