WASHINGTON — Amid warnings that artificial intelligence could soon wipe out humanity, some lawmakers are not confident that Congress has the expertise or ability to regulate AI.“A lot of them can’t spell it,” quipped Sen.Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
“They just don’t have the experience.”Sen.Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., was equally skeptical.
“They still don’t know how to get on the internet,” let alone understand AI, he said.Rep.Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who represents parts of Silicon Valley, argued that many members of Congress are just not up to speed on AI, and some seem uninterested.“The problem in Congress is not that we don’t have enough computer scientists.
It’s that we don’t have enough people who have a basic understanding of how the technology works or are using it,” Khanna said in an interview with NBC News.Add to GoogleRogue OpenAI model hacks Australian government website01:53“It’s like talking about making the rules for driving the road.You don’t have to be an auto mechanic, but it would be nice if you at least were a passenger in a car or had driven a car,” he continued.
“And we’ve had a lot of members of Congress who’ve not been passengers in a car when it comes to AI, or certainly haven’t driven it.”One thing that everyone seems to agree on: Congress is not close to regulating AI.Capitol Hill has been notoriously slow to regulate new technology.
It hasn’t passed any sweeping, comprehensive legislation regulating the internet, invented more than 40 years ago, instead taking a more piecemeal approach and relying on existing laws.And exactly 20 years after Facebook became available to the public, lawmakers are still struggling to figure out how to regulate social media.New rules aimed at protecting kids online are popular in theory, but actual legislation remains stalled, with House and Senate negotiators deadlocked on the issue.“This is the United States Congress you’re talking about.
I mean, nothing moves ver...