Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.In today’s edition, Kristen Welker takes stock of how the AI debate quickly exploded in Washington and beyond.Plus, Ryan J.
Reilly and Kelly O’Donnell dig into the attorney general’s unusual political appearances.— Adam WollnerThe AI debate takes the political spotlightAnalysis by Kristen WelkerThe debate over the future of artificial intelligence is intensifying ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington next week, emerging as a major flashpoint on the campaign trail and Capitol Hill.
While the House passed a bill to shield consumers from higher energy costs that result from new data centers, members left Washington this week without deciding whether to take any action on the broader issue of regulating AI development.I pressed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on “Meet the Press” last Sunday on whether Congress would act on AI before November.He called AI regulation “a very important issue” but said “it’s not one that we can rush into.”“We have to put up some guardrails,” Johnson told me.
“But at the same time, we’ve got to make sure that we don’t lose our edge in the global competition on this with China.Because that would be a national security threat.”But some Democrats are calling for more immediate action.
This Sunday, I’ll speak exclusively with Sen.Cory Booker, D-N.J., who wants President Donald Trump to call on Congress to convene for a special session focused on AI.
“Congress will soon leave Washington for two months,” Booker said in a Senate floor speech this week.“Artificial intelligence will not recess.”For his part, Trump has called fears about AI taking over the world a “hoax” and wrote this week on Truth Social: “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (Hig...