Treating AI Like Airplanes Would Swap Monthly Releases for Years of Approval
Investor and podcast host David Sacks argues airplane approval takes five to nine years, while AI labs ship every few months, a mismatch that would let China take the lead.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg · Can the AI Industry Regulate Itself? Stripe Wants PayPal, China Catches Up, NY Bans DatacentersRegulating artificial intelligence like airplanes would trade a release cycle measured in months for approvals measured in years, investor and podcast host David Sacks argues.
The comparison turns on what the Federal Aviation Administration does with new planes. For a new design or a major change, makers need formal government approval, called type certification.
For an entirely new aircraft, that process takes five to nine years, Sacks said. Amending an existing certificate takes three to five years. He cited the 737 Max, which needed roughly five years. Sacks described the rule as “no approval, no flying commercially,” adding, “It’s safety first.”
Sacks argued that an FAA-style system for AI would work the same way. He said labs that now release updates every few months could need full government review before each significant release could reach the public, stretching the cycle from months to years.
In his view, the United States would then lose the AI race because China would not follow similar rules.
Presented as a choice between an FAA-style system and what he called a DMV for AI, Sacks said he would much rather go for what he called “Demis’ SRO for AI,” referring to DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis. It is a self-regulatory body, meaning AI companies would fund and run safety checks under federal oversight rather than answer to a new government agency.
But Sacks said he could potentially get on board only if several conditions were adopted, and he still had concerns. The conditions were broad industry representation including startups and open source, review of true frontier advances only, a narrow focus on catastrophic risks such as cyberattacks and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats rather than speech, a voluntary start before any legal mandate, and use as a replacement for a new agency rather than an addition to it.
Questions people ask
Why does it take five to nine years to certify a new airplane?
Type certification requires proving a design is safe in almost every imaginable condition, with extensive testing, documentation, and flight trials. Regulators move slowly because a single failure can kill hundreds of people, so they review engineering, software, manufacturing, and maintenance together.
Does the FAA approve every small tweak to a plane?
No, but major changes to flight-critical systems can require an amended certificate, which itself can take three to five years. Minor changes and routine maintenance are handled through faster approvals, service bulletins, and airline procedures.
What is the alternative to an FAA for AI?
The proposal discussed is a self-regulatory organization, modeled on the body that oversees brokerages, where industry funds and staffs the watchdog under federal oversight. Frontier labs would submit models about 30 days before release for checks on cyber, national security, and biological risks.