Senators roll out plan to combat artificial intelligence
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, took the wraps off a sweeping 20-page report on artificial intelligence Wednesday, offering recommendations for how to foster innovation while also establishing guardrails for the innovative technology.
The document, dubbed a roadmap, is the product of a year of Senate forums with high-profile technology leaders, including the heads of Google and Facebook, plus labor leaders and civil rights advocates.
“AI is so complex and so rapidly evolving and touching every aspect of society that we just couldn’t sit on the sidelines or wait several years to see what might happen,” Schumer told reporters Wednesday when formally rolling out the report.
What You Need To Know
- The roadmap calls for the government to eventually invest $32 billion annually on non-defense AI innovation, plus legislation protecting workers and consumer data
- What this blueprint will look like in practice remains to be seen, but Schumer expressed confidence lawmakers can get something done before next year
The roadmap calls for the government to eventually invest $32 billion annually on non-defense AI innovation. It calls for Congress to take steps to protect consumer data and combat discrimination in the algorithms that fuel how AI operates.
It also recommends lawmakers take up bills to help protect workers, including legislation related to training private sector employees.
The four senators who drafted the plan touted the potential groundbreaking benefits AI presents — notably in the health care field — arguing they want the United States to be AI leaders. They also warned of the potential risks.
“We want what AI can do for the quality of life to actually be beneficial to every single citizen in our country,” South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds said.
What this blueprint will look like in practice remains to be seen.
Schumer said Senate committees will now get to work on legislation. He suggested the Senate would not wait for one sweeping bill to come together, but will take up legislation piece-by-piece.
“We will not solve every issue that AI poses. That’s an impossible dream,” Schumer said.
He said he plans to speak with Speaker Mike Johnson about how to move forward, and expressed optimism that something could get done before the 118th Congress wraps up in January.
Time is of the essence for one pillar of their plan: safeguarding elections from the influence of AI.
A Senate panel on Wednesday advanced bills that would, among other things, require disclaimers on political advertisements with certain AI content. Whether legislation like that will make it to the president’s desk is unclear.
