Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that he would provide a framework in the coming weeks on the risks and potential benefits of artificial intelligence, which would then be translated into piecemeal legislation.
The Biden administration and lawmakers, concerned about AI’s impact on elections or on Americans, have pushed to regulate AI, but a polarized U.S. Congress has made little progress. Europe is leading the way, with lawmakers there developing regulations around artificial intelligence.
Schumer said the action plan would draw on expert advice and address sensitive issues related to artificial intelligence, its impact on intellectual property and workers’ rights, health care and “doomsday scenarios.”
“There will be a lot of good guidance and ideas on how Congress should proceed in this roadmap that will be released in the next few weeks,” he said during an interview at the AI Summit in Washington. “But you will see that various committees are taking on this role and translating it, making it concrete, into legislation,” he added.
continued below
U.S. officials have warned that artificial intelligence could escalate the risk of bias and make it easier to interfere in elections through deepfakes. They also fear that powerful AI models in the hands of bad actors could be used to create biological weapons or launch massive cyberattacks, with particular emphasis on China.
“If we do nothing, China with a completely different system – their AI is interested in things like facial recognition, surveillance and the like – could overtake us,” Schumer added, while also emphasizing the potential for AI to negatively impact elections.
Schumer said lawmakers will take a piecemeal approach to the issue. “Some committees are a little further along than others. “We are not going to wait for one huge comprehensive plan that will cover everything,” he said.
(Reporting by Michael Martina and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci)
Most read on GRC
