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Argentine President Javier Milei has defended his proposal to create a legal framework that would allow companies operated entirely by artificial intelligence to exist in Argentina, following criticism from historian Yuval Noah Harari. Milei argues that keeping AI unregulated and introducing a new category of corporate entity will position the country as a global hub for technological innovation.

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Milei's plan, outlined in an opinion piece published in the Financial Times, proposes creating a special legal framework to foster AI development in Argentina. The proposal includes keeping AI unregulated and creating a new category of corporate entity, the "non-human corporation," which would be operated entirely by AI agents or robots. Milei has drawn a parallel between the present moment and the creation of the Dutch East India Company in 1602, arguing that the legal innovation of the limited liability company "unleashed capitalism's full potential" and led to the Industrial Revolution.

Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens, responded in the Financial Times with a column titled "We should not grant legal personhood to AI agents," arguing that granting legal status to corporations run by non-human agents would amount to handing them "a master key" to gain dangerous access to financial, economic and political systems. Harari warned that "countries that grant legal personhood to AIs risk becoming something for which the historical record offers no analogy: not a company-state, but an AI-state, a country whose inhabitants could be governed by non-human corporations."

Milei thanked Harari on X for "taking part in this fascinating and momentous debate" and argued that humanity must build a framework that allows it to harness the opportunities presented by AI. He said he was "already preparing my response to see whether we can dispel his fears about the path I proposed last week!"

The Buenos Aires Times, which reported on the exchange, also noted criticism from Maximiliano Firtman, a technology specialist who argued that non-human corporations already exist and aren't necessary for AI to flourish.

Key claims

  • President Javier Milei proposed granting legal status to companies operated by AI.
  • Milei's plan includes creating a new category of corporate entity, the "non-human corporation."
  • Critics, including Yuval Noah Harari, argue that granting legal status to AI-operated companies could lead to totalitarian potential and inhuman treatment of employees.
  • Milei promised to create a special legal framework to foster AI development in Argentina.
  • Milei drew a parallel between the present moment and the creation of the Dutch East India Company in 1602.
  • Yuval Noah Harari criticized Milei's proposal to grant legal personhood to AI agents.
  • Milei responded to Harari's criticism, arguing that humanity must build a framework to harness the opportunities presented by AI.
  • Maximiliano Firtman, a specialist in technology, criticized Milei's arguments, noting that non-human corporations already exist and aren't necessary for AI to flourish.