The fatal conceit of regulating artificial intelligence

Authors

  • Rodrigo Marinho Instituto Brasileiro de Ensino, Desenvolvimento e Pesquisa (IDP), Brasília-DF, Brasil

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30800/mises.2025.v13.1613

Keywords:

Artificial Intelligence, Regulation, Fatal Conceit, Spontaneous Order

Abstract

Daron Acemoglu’s essay Harms of AI advocates broad state regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) to mitigate social and economic risks. This article presents a systematic critique of this approach, grounded in Friedrich Hayek’s theory of spontaneous order, Milton Friedman’s principle of economic scarcity, and Leonard Read’s metaphor of decentralized cooperation. It argues that attempting to centrally regulate such a complex phenomenon as AI falls into the “fatal conceit” of disregarding the dynamics of dispersed knowledge and spontaneous coordination among market agents. Through analysis of AI’s global production chain and
its multiple interdependent components, we demonstrate that free markets and competition constitute more effective instruments for risk mitigation than centralized regulations, which tend to inhibit innovation and create economic distortions.

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Author Biography

Rodrigo Marinho, Instituto Brasileiro de Ensino, Desenvolvimento e Pesquisa (IDP), Brasília-DF, Brasil

Diretor Executivo do Instituto Livre Mercado, Professor do Instituto Mises Brasil, Mestre e Doutorando em Direito.

References

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Read, L. E. (1958). Eu, o lápis. Foundation for Economic Education.

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Published

2025-07-29

How to Cite

1.
Marinho R. The fatal conceit of regulating artificial intelligence. MisesJournal [Internet]. 2025 Jul. 29 [cited 2025 Jul. 31];13. Available from: https://www.misesjournal.org.br/misesjournal/article/view/1613

Issue

Section

Essays & Insights

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