AI makes the fight for net neutrality even more important

On April 25, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will—for the seventh time in 20 years—address the issue of net neutrality. The lobbying—including a barrage of commercials by the cable association and Chamber of Commerce—has thus far rehashed the same old arguments that an open internet threatens the companies’ incentive to invest in broadband networks. At the heart of net neutrality is whether internet service providers (ISPs)—cable companies such as Comcast and Charter and telephone companies such as AT&T and Verizon – should have the responsibilities of a common carrier that for decades have applied to telephone service. Such responsibilities—often described by reference to Tile II of the Communications Act—include behaving in a “just and reasonable” manner, including providing non-discriminatory access to their networks. Now, two decades after the debate began, artificial intelligence (AI) has once again amplified the importance of non-discriminatory access as well as just and reasonable behavior on the last mile of the internet that connects consumers and businesses. According to ChatGPT 4, here are the specific benefits net neutrality brings to the implementation and development of AI:

• Increased Data Demand: “Without net neutrality, ISPs could throttle or prioritize traffic, affecting access to AI services and resources. This could hinder AI research and development, especially for smaller entities without the means to pay for better access.”
• Bias and Fairness: “With AI startups and innovations emerging rapidly, the absence of net neutrality could stifle competition by allowing established companies or those with agreements with ISPs to dominate, potentially slowing down the rate of innovation in AI.”
• Access to Services: “Many AI-powered applications and services require constant internet connectivity to function optimally. Without net neutrality, ISPs could control access to these services, impacting everything from AI-driven healthcare diagnostics to personalized learning platforms.”
• Global Accessibility: “The development of AI is a global effort, requiring collaboration across borders. Net Neutrality facilitates this by ensuring that data can flow freely and without discrimination. This is crucial for sharing AI research, accessing computational resources, and deploying solutions worldwide.”
• Ethical Implications: “The ability to control what can be accessed or prioritized by ISPs could lead to ethical dilemmas, especially if certain AI-driven content is censored or throttled. This raises concerns about who controls access to AI technologies and for what purposes.”

[Tom Wheeler is a visiting fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings. Wheeler is a businessman, author, and was chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2013 to 2017.]