The writer is international policy director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center and special adviser to the European CommissionHardly a day goes by without a new proposal on how to regulate AI: research bodies, safety agencies, an idea from the International Atomic Energy Agency branded ‘IAEA for AI’?.?.?.?the list keeps growing. All these suggestions reflect an urgent desire to do something, even if there is no consensus on what that “something” should be. There is certainly a lot at stake, from employment and discrimination to national security and democracy. But can political leaders actually develop the necessary policies when they know so little about AI?