Training a state-of-the-art LLM is currently at least in the $100ks. That stands to drop rapidly, but it's currently more along the lines of "the branches of one million willow trees".
So long as it's not something an individual can easily achieve, regulations can seriously hinder development. The FDA kept the COVID vaccine from general use for nearly a year because they have a regulatory apparatus that companies know better than to ignore. We had a baby formula shortage because the FDA said "no, you can't use EU-approved baby formula until we approve it. Now there's an Adderall shortage because the government said "make less of this" and everyone said "yes, sir, whatever you say sir."
There's certainly a good deal of regulation-violation and wrist-slapping in our world, but regulations get mostly followed, especially when the enforcement is severe enough.
So long as it's not something an individual can easily achieve, regulations can seriously hinder development. The FDA kept the COVID vaccine from general use for nearly a year because they have a regulatory apparatus that companies know better than to ignore. We had a baby formula shortage because the FDA said "no, you can't use EU-approved baby formula until we approve it. Now there's an Adderall shortage because the government said "make less of this" and everyone said "yes, sir, whatever you say sir."
There's certainly a good deal of regulation-violation and wrist-slapping in our world, but regulations get mostly followed, especially when the enforcement is severe enough.