WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will unveil his long-awaited framework for regulating artificial intelligence in a speech Wednesday outlining steps Congress can take to get ahead of the fast-moving technology.
The New York Democrat will discuss AI’s benefits, from fighting disease to making Americans’ lives easier and more efficient. But he will also join the chorus of tech experts warning about its potential dangers, including massive disruptions to the workforce, misinformation campaigns and election interference.
In his keynote address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Schumer will launch what he’s calling his “SAFE Innovation” framework and call for an “all-hands-on-deck approach” to AI.
“Congress cannot behave like ostriches in the sand when it comes to AI. Some might think it’s better to ignore this issue or hope someone else figures it out because it’s so complex, but ignoring AI is untenable for Congress,” Schumer said in a floor speech Tuesday previewing his remarks.
“In the 21st century, elected representatives must treat AI with the same level of seriousness as national security, job creation and our civil liberties, because AI will touch on these issues and many, many more,” he added.
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Schumer’s speech comes as Washington scrambles to respond to dire warnings from AI experts, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, that the technology, left unchecked, could lead to human “extinction.”
Those alarm bells have caught the attention of top political leaders and policymakers. During his visit to the Bay Area on Tuesday, President Joe Biden huddled with eight AI experts in San Francisco, including Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media; Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy; and Tristan Harris, executive director and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology and a former design ethicist at Google.
“We’ll see more technological change in the next 10 years than we’ve seen in the last 50 years — and maybe even beyond that,” Biden said. “And AI is already driving that change in every part of the American life.”
Also on Tuesday, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers rolled out legislation, the National AI Commission Act, that would create a national commission of experts to study and evaluate the best way for the U.S. to regulate AI.
Reps. Ted Lieu and Anna Eshoo, both California Democrats, and Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., are teaming up on the House bill, while Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, will introduce a companion bill in the Senate.
Schumer has been hosting a series of bipartisan briefings to help senators get up to speed with AI. He’s been working closely with Sens. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Todd Young, R-Ind., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., as well as the bipartisan leaders of several key committees.
Liz Brown-Kaiser contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
