A Framework for the Private Governance of Frontier Artificial Intelligence

Authors

  • Dean Ball Senior Policy Advisor for AI and Emerging Technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70777/si.v2i2.14519

Keywords:

agi governance, artificial intelligence safety, agi value alignment, libertarian, agi safety

Abstract

This paper presents a proposal for the governance of frontier AI systems through a hybrid public-private system. Private bodies, authorized and overseen by government, provide certifications to developers of frontier AI systems on an opt-in basis. In exchange for opting in, frontier AI firms receive protections from tort liability for customer misuse of their models. Before detailing the proposal, the paper explores more commonly discussed approaches to AI governance, analyzing their strengths and flaws. It also examines the nature of frontier AI governance itself. The paper includes consideration of the political economic, institutional, legal, safety, and other merits and tradeoffs inherent in the governance system it proposes.

Author Biography

Dean Ball, Senior Policy Advisor for AI and Emerging Technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Research Fellow, Artificial Intelligence & Progress Project at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, Policy Fellow at Fathom, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foundation for American Innovation.

Author of Hyperdimensional. His work focuses on emerging technologies and the future of governance. He has written on topics including artificial intelligence, the future of manufacturing, neural technology, bioengineering, technology policy, political theory, public finance, urban infrastructure, and prisoner re-entry.

His work has appeared in National Affairs, The New Atlantis, Pirate Wires, Discourse Magazine, Understanding AI, AI Supremacy, The Dispatch, The Hill, Tech Policy Press, the Washington Post, the Orange County Register, the Coolidge Quarterly, National Review, and other outlets. He has appeared on CNN, C-SPAN, and many podcasts, and is the host of the AI Summer podcast with Timothy B. Lee. His paper “Neither Harbour nor Floor: Contemplating the Singularity with Michael Oakeshott” will be part of a forthcoming volume titled Liberalism Revisited, to be published by Palgrave. He is also the author of “Ideas of Another Order: Michael Oakeshott and Confucius in Conversation,” an essay in comparative political theory that was published in Collingwood and British Idealism Studies.

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Ball-Safeguard against AI dangers

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Published

2025-05-29

How to Cite

Ball, D. (2025). A Framework for the Private Governance of Frontier Artificial Intelligence. SuperIntelligence - Robotics - Safety & Alignment, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.70777/si.v2i2.14519

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