In the latest new episode of the Washington AI Network Podcast, host Tammy Haddad interviews Miriam Vogel, president and CEO of EqualAI and co-author of the new book, Governing the Machine.
Recorded live at The House at 1229 in Washington, D.C., the discussion explores the urgent governance challenges facing executives and policymakers amid the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence. Vogel argues that the U.S. must leverage its history of brand trust to win the global AI race, while warning that companies ignoring governance face rising legal threats.
Vogel on the Surge in AI Litigation:
“We’ve seen a six times increase over six years of AI litigation in the courts. I expect that to double and triple in the coming year … The reason people aren’t thinking about it is they haven’t seen it yet in the courts. We started talking about this seven years ago, and now we’ve seen a lot of IP case law. We’re seeing the copyright and trademark issues litigated in the courts. I expect we’ll see that in all the other areas of law.”
On Why “Trust” is the Key to ROI:
“Trust is the hot commodity now. It is what will decide whether or not we’ll use a technology … People will not use it if they’re not trusting it. That’s why we’ve seen a lack of ROI in the headlines recently. People, companies are spending millions and not necessarily realizing gains because they haven’t done the important work of making sure they have governance to help bring trust. So absolutely, governance is an accelerant for innovation.”
On Workforce Fears and Strategy:
“I think it’s a missed opportunity when the companies are just talking about these layoffs they’re not talking about what they’re doing internally … We really have to start looking at the humans involved here, and the companies that are looking at the humans within their company, the humans that they want to be selling to, are the ones that are getting the advantage and building the trust.”
On Global Competition and China:
“It would be naive to not be looking at China and learning and seeing that they’re on our heels … But I think that you cannot underestimate what we keep getting back to, and this is trust. I think the U.S. has had the innovators that have been trusted for years … And I think that is imperative that we maintain that trust.”
Listen to this episode on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or the platform of your choice.