"WASHINGTON -- Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) launched an effort Wednesday to write new rules for the emerging realm of artificial intelligence, aiming to accelerate U.S. innovation while staving off a dystopian future.
In a speech at a Washington think tank, Schumer called for more federal involvement in maintaining U.S. competitiveness. That will require careful attention to mitigating AI's potential harms, Schumer said.
"The first issue we must tackle is encouraging, not stifling, innovation," Schumer said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "But if people don't think innovation can be done safely, that will slow AI's development and even prevent us from moving forward."
He added in a fact sheet that "with so much potential, the U.S. must lead in innovation and write the rules of the road on AI and not let adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party craft the standards for a technology set to become as transformative as electricity."
Schumer joins the Biden administration, tech-industry leaders and other members of Congress in seeking to put limits on the technology, amid fears that AI tools can be abused to manipulate voters, pull off sophisticated financial crimes, displace millions of workers or create other harms.
But imposing new regulations on a set of technologies that are still under development will be difficult for Congress, which often waits years or even decades before establishing guardrails for new industries.
In addition, lawmakers will be trying to impose new rules in a number of areas -- such as copyright and liability -- where tech companies have battled with other industries and consumers for years.
Those factors will likely make it harder for Schumer to push AI initiatives through Congress than the semiconductor and science funding bill that Schumer spearheaded last year, said Adam Kovacevich, CEO of the Chamber of Progress, an industry trade group.
"It's easier for Congress to agree on ways for the U.S. to maintain its edge, than it is to regulate harms," he said.
In brief remarks on Tuesday at an artificial-intelligence roundtable discussion in San Francisco, President Biden also underscored the risks inherent in AI as well as the close attention his administration is giving the topic.
"We'll see more technological change in the next 10 years than we've seen in the last 50 years," Biden said. "Social media already has shown us the harm that powerful technology can do."
Elon Musk made a rare visit to Capitol Hill in the spring and spoke with Schumer about AI. Musk has been cautious on AI.
In his speech, Schumer said that AI "could ignite a new era of technological advancement, scientific discovery and industrial might."
He called on lawmakers to help provide balance between collaboration and competition among companies; to assess how much federal financial help is needed, if any; to determine the proper divide between private and open AI systems; and to consider how the U.S. can ensure that the technology can be harnessed by many, and not just a few big companies.
Among the other potential battlefields in the looming debate over AI: curbing bias and discrimination in artificial intelligence, regulating so-called deep fakes -- particularly in campaign advertising -- and gaining visibility into the inner workings of artificial intelligence systems." [1]
1. U.S. News: Schumer Presses Effort to Write New Rules for AI. McKinnon, John D.
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 22 June 2023: A.4.
Komentarų nėra:
Rašyti komentarą