“We are living through the greatest transformation that we have seen in our lifetimes, and likely for a significant time before that,” two-time Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told an audience at New York City’s flagship public library on Oct. 28, comparing the advent of artificial intelligence to the advent of nuclear weaponry in terms of the need for carefully thought out safety standards. “We're at a branch point,” he added. “What should the future really look like, what are we trying to protect and preserve?”

Murthy was not alone in sounding the alarm. Jim Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, the organizer of the conference, told the mostly supportive crowd that recent history had proved that the industry leaders or, as he called them “tech broligarchs,” could not be relied upon to create digital information systems that were safe or healthy for children. “We did not get out in front of social media in time,” he told the gathering. “This is the moment. AI is a bigger deal.…