Interview Only w/ David French - America’s AI Liability Crisis & Constitutional Breaking Points

<p>David French &mdash; New York Times columnist, veteran constitutional attorney, and one of the sharpest legal thinkers writing today &mdash; joins the Chuck Toddcast for a riveting conversation about how the legal system is straining to handle a world being remade by AI, an out-of-control executive branch, and the slow erosion of America's basic constitutional architecture. French opens with the chilling case the Florida Attorney General has now brought against OpenAI in connection with the Florida State University shooter, who asked ChatGPT how to disengage his weapon's safety just three minutes before opening fire. French argues that if ChatGPT had been a human person, it would unquestionably have been charged as a co-conspirator &mdash; humans get prosecuted for encouraging suicide all the time &mdash; and that when ChatGPT is speaking, OpenAI is legally speaking, full stop. He walks through the murky liability questions the law is now scrambling to answer: Google Search has never been held to the same standard as ChatGPT, but ChatGPT actively generates new speech rather than just pointing users to existing content, and French argues that litigation needs to function as a meaningful deterrent rather than mere compensation &mdash; though ultimately Congress is going to have to actually legislate AI regulation rather than leave the entire field to civil lawsuits.</p> <p>The conversation turns to what French sees as a more immediate constitutional crisis: Trump's blanket immunity for tax violations and the "anti-weaponization" slush fund scheme, both of which French argues are flatly indefensible on legal grounds. He explains the deeper problem &mdash; Trump suing his own government creates a fiction of an adversarial proceeding when there isn't actually one, and Trump cares far more about the liability shield than the slush fund itself, because he's trying to remove himself from the operation of the law in essentially the same way a king would. The pardon power only covers federal crimes, not civil offenses, and Congress has clear authority to stop this if it had the will. French offers several concrete reforms: require congressional approval for legal settlements above a certain dollar threshold, force members of Congress to obtain a certification in the Constitution itself, and that political parties should perform comprehensive background checks for their candidates, On the question of whether the Founders intended a Christian nation, French is unequivocal: they didn't, and Madison rebuked Christian nationalism explicitly. The deeper structural problem behind the DOJ's loss of credibility is the unitary executive theory itself &mdash; Article II of the Constitution is dangerously vague, the executive was never meant to be a co-equal branch (Congress was supposed to be most powerful), and the only durable fix may require constitutional reform to formally remove the DOJ from executive control. French closes on a hopeful note: after every dark period in American history, the country has entered a major era of reform &mdash; and he believes one is coming again.&nbsp;</p> <p>Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com &amp; enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order.</p> <p>Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.</p> <p>Timeline:</p> <p>(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)</p> <p>00:00 David French joins the Chuck ToddCast</p> <p>01:30 Insurance companies &amp; gambling companies have opposite incentives</p> <p>04:00 States liberalized sports gambling and the public hasn&rsquo;t liked it</p> <p>05:45 Trying to regulate after the fact can be difficult</p> <p>07:00 Common law concepts are starting to come into regulating AI</p> <p>07:30 Florida AG has brought criminal case against OpenAI over FSU shooter</p> <p>09:00 There has to always be human liability in AI cases</p> <p>11:00 If ChatGPT was a human in FSU case, it would have be charged as co-conspirator</p> <p>12:00 Shooter asked ChatGPT how to disengage the safety 3 mins before shooting</p> <p>14:00 In Canadian school shooting, ChatGPT&rsquo;s participation was overt</p> <p>16:30 Determining liability is murky. Google search isn&rsquo;t held to same standard as ChatGPT</p> <p>18:00 Humans can be prosecuted for encouraging someone to commit suicide</p> <p>19:15 There are circumstances where criminal liability could apply to AI</p> <p>19:45 When ChatGPT is speaking, OpenAI is speaking</p> <p>21:00 Litigation needs to be a deterrent, not just compensation for victims</p> <p>23:30 We need to pass laws regulating AI, not just pressure via civil lawsuits</p> <p>24:45 How is blanket immunity for Trump tax violations remotely legal?</p> <p>25:45 Congress&rsquo;s job to stop weaponization fund &amp; Trump IRS immunity</p> <p>26:45 Legal system rests on an adversarial relationship in court cases</p> <p>27:45 There&rsquo;s no adversarial proceeding when Trump sues his own government</p> <p>28:30 Trump cares more about liability shield than the slush fund</p> <p>29:30 Pardon power only applies to federal crimes, not civil offenses. Can be sued</p> <p>30:15 Trump is trying to remove himself from the operation of the law like a king</p> <p>31:00 How can congress stop Trump&rsquo;s DOJ from issuing these settlements?</p> <p>32:45 Congress should have to approve settlements above a certain amount of $</p> <p>34:30 Member of congress should have to get a certification in the constitution</p> <p>35:45 Parties should force candidates to pass a comprehensive background check</p> <p>37:00 Why aren&rsquo;t state funded partisan primaries a violation of equal protection?</p> <p>40:15 Partisan primaries are killing the political system</p> <p>41:00 States can say that they&rsquo;ll only fund open primaries</p> <p>42:15 Campaign finance reforms and PACs have weakened party control</p> <p>44:00 Did the founders intend for America to be a christian nation?</p> <p>45:00 Founders were biblically literate, but not particularly devout</p> <p>45:30 Founders intentionally did not create a christian nation</p> <p>46:30 Madison argued against paying clergy with tax dollars</p> <p>47:15 Madison rebuked christian nationalism and immigration restriction</p> <p>49:45 DOJ has lost credibility, how can we separate the DOJ from the executive?</p> <p>50:30 Problems with DOJ are downstream from the unitary executive theory</p> <p>51:30 Article II of the constitution is vague and inexplicit&nbsp;</p> <p>52:45 After dark period, America enters periods of reform, which we badly need</p> <p>54:45 Never supposed to be co-equal branches. Congress should have most power</p> <p>55:30 Have to remove executive&rsquo;s ability to claw power to the top</p> <p>56:30 Would likely need constitutional reform to pull DOJ out of executive branch</p> <p>59:00 Past congressional leaders wouldn&rsquo;t voluntarily cede power</p> <p>1:00:45 In late 80&rsquo;s - early 90&rsquo;s, congress was incentivized to compromise</p> <p>1:01:30 Changes to college basketball in one-and-done and NIL era</p> <p>1:03:00 Transfer portal has created a new form of one-and-done</p> <p>1:04:45 NBA can only improve regular season by reducing the 82 games</p> <p>1:06:15 Regular season NBA games are more intense than 30 years ago</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>