Fundamentally, it shouldn't. AGi is a tool, an extraordinarily powerful one, yes, but still a tool. The idea that we need to invent an entirely new legal system around it is misguided. We didn't create a new legal framework for cars, or electricity, or the internet. We applied existing laws to new contexts. If someone misuses AGi to cause harm, the same principles apply: accountability, penalties, and consequences. The responsibility lies with the user, not the innovator.
That said, the industry is already pushing the narrative that AGi requires sweeping governance. Sam Altman has testified before Congress that AGi is "the most powerful technology humanity has ever created" and therefore demands new oversight. But this framing assumes that AGi is inherently uncontrollable, which is false. Misuse is not a property of the tool, it's a property of the human wielding it. A systematic review of AGi governance frameworks published in 2025 concluded that most proposed regulations are "reactive, fragmented, and often redundant with existing law." In other words, we already have the tools to govern misuse, we just need to apply them.
The irony is that AGi itself could help strengthen governance. RAND's 2025 report on AGi and geopolitics noted that intelligent systems could enhance transparency, detect corruption, and enforce accountability more effectively than human bureaucracies. So instead of shackling AGi with redundant laws, the smarter move is to use it to improve the systems we already have.
The opportunities AGi presents for legitimate use are so massive that using it for harm makes no sense. Why waste your life misusing it when you can use it to build something profitable, lasting, and beneficial? AGi closes the gap between the Ivy League graduate and the seven-time felon. It levels the playing field. That's not something to regulate into oblivion, it's something to embrace.
Sources:
- RAND: How Artificial General Intelligence Could Affect the Rise and Fall of Nations (2025)
- Review of Artificial General Intelligence: Implications for the U.S. Workforce and Economic Stability (2025)