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Sen. Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, plans to start a series of hearings next month on AI regulation with Tesla’s Elon Musk, Google’s Sundar Pichai, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella.
Mr. Schumer’s office said on Monday that technology leaders are scheduled to convene in Washington on Sept. 13 for the first of several gatherings of lawmakers to hear from AI experts. Jensen Huang, CEO of chipmaker NVIDIA, and Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, will also attend.
“AI Forums” are closed-door hearings for lawmakers as they try to create regulations for AI technologies. Mr. Schumer, the majority leader, said the sessions are meant to educate members of Congress about the risks artificial intelligence poses to jobs, the spread of disinformation and theft of intellectual property. His office said lawmakers will also learn about the opportunities the technology offers in disease research.
The Sept. 13 meeting will also include members from civil rights, labor and creative community groups. Axios previously mentioned the details of the meeting.
why does it matter?
The guest list for the September 13 Forum indicates the important role that technology companies will play in setting the regulations for AI.
To influence the debate, some heads of technology companies have expressed their opinions on AI regulations to lawmakers. Mr. Altman, for example, has become a fixture on Capitol Hill, appearing at congressional hearings this year and meeting with more than 100 lawmakers.
Lawmakers and the White House have also relied on tech executives for guidance on regulations. Last month, the White House announced that Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta had agreed to voluntary safeguards around their AI technology, including stress testing of their systems for security flaws.
But many tech companies disagree with the regulations. OpenAI and Microsoft have supported the idea of creating a single agency to regulate the technology, a proposal opposed by IBM and Google. Mr. Musk, who also owns Company X, formerly Twitter, has called for a halt to development of some of the more advanced uses of AI, while other tech leaders have disagreed with that approach.
background
The United States lags behind in global regulations. This year, Europe is expected to enact an artificial intelligence law that would limit facial recognition technology and force companies like OpenAI to disclose data sources for their technology.
The September 13 meeting is set to begin a long-awaited process on AI rules in the United States. And in June, Mr. Schumer announced a plan to start “from scratch” and educate lawmakers to come up with legislation that strikes a balance between encouraging technology development and protecting people.
Mr. Schumer said he will host forums to learn about the potential risks and opportunities of AI from technology experts, academics, and civil and labor rights groups. The forums can help draft legislation that can be introduced during the year.