Washington — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday described the rapid development of artificial intelligence tools as a “revolutionary moment,” saying the government must act quickly to regulate the companies developing them.
The New York Democrat said he is working on “highly ambitious” bipartisan legislation to maximize the technology’s benefits and minimize significant risks.
Although Schumer did not provide details of such legislation, he offered some key goals: protecting US elections from AI-generated misinformation or interference, protecting American workers and intellectual property, preventing exploitation by AI algorithms and building new railings to fend off bad actors.
In a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, Schumer said AI legislation should also foster American innovation.
“If implemented correctly, AI holds the promise of improving life on Earth,” Schumer said. “It will reshape the way we fight disease, tackle hunger, manage our lives, enrich our minds and ensure peace,” he said. But there are also real threats that present themselves: jobs displacement, misinformation, a new era of weapons and the risk of being unable to fully manage this new technology.
Schumer’s announcement of urgency comes weeks after scientists and tech industry leaders, including high-level executives from Microsoft and Google, issued warnings about the dangers that artificial intelligence could pose to mankind .
“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority, along with other societal-level risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” their statement said.
With the rise of a new generation of highly capable AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, there has been growing concern about artificial intelligence systems outclassing humans and running wild. This has sent countries around the world scrambling to come up with rules for the developing technology, with the European Union expected to ratify it later this year with its AI Act.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden convened a group of technology leaders in San Francisco to debate the “risks and enormous promises” of artificial intelligence. In May, the administration brought tech CEOs together at the White House to discuss these issues, with the Democratic president telling them, “There is enormous potential and enormous danger in what you’re doing.”
“We will see more technological change in the next 10 years than we have seen in the last 50 years,” Biden said.
According to the White House, the office of White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients is developing a set of actions to be taken by the federal government in the coming weeks regarding AI.
Schumer’s involvement in crafting AI legislation is unusual, as Senate leaders typically leave tasks to individual senators or committees. But he has taken a personal interest in regulating the development of artificial intelligence, arguing that it is urgent because companies have already introduced human-like chatbots and other products that could change life as we know it. . He is working with another Democrat, Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, and Republican Sens. Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Todd Young of Indiana to talk with experts, educate allies and write legislation.
It’s an unlikely role for Schumer in particular, who famously carries a low-tech flip phone, and for the Senate as a whole, where the pace of legislation is often glacial.
Senators are average around retirement age and not known for their mastery of high technology. He has been mocked in recent years for asking basic questions in hearings — for example, asking Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg simple questions about how his platform works in a 2018 hearing on Russian interference — and technology. to a bipartisan reluctance to regulate the industry.
Schumer, along with several Republican allies, say the federal government can no longer laissez faire with tech companies.
“If the government doesn’t intervene, who will fill its place?” Schumer asked. “Individuals and the private sector cannot handle the security of our country. Even if many developers have good intentions, there will always be bad actors, unscrupulous companies, and foreign adversaries who seek to harm us. And companies may be unwilling to put up railings on their own, certainly if their competitors aren’t required to put them up as well.
Attempting to regulate AI, Schumer said, “is unlike anything Congress has done before.”
It is unclear whether Schumer will be able to meet his goals. The effort is in its early stages, with a bipartisan working group launching a series of briefings to bring all 100 senators up to speed. In the House, legislation regulating or overseeing artificial intelligence has been more patchy, and Republican leaders haven’t set any ambitious goals.
Schumer acknowledged that there are more questions than answers about the technology.
“It’s not like labor or health care or defense where Congress has a long history, we can work,” Schumer said. “Indeed, experts acknowledge that no one is sure what questions policymakers should be asking. In many ways, we are starting from zero.”
