20-2-2024 (WASHINGTON) Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives announced on Tuesday the establishment of a bipartisan task force aimed at exploring potential legislation to tackle the challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI).
Despite numerous high-level discussions and legislative proposals over the past year, efforts in Congress to pass AI-related laws have experienced significant delays.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated that the task force’s primary objective would be to produce a comprehensive report and consider appropriate measures to safeguard the nation against existing and emerging threats.
The advent of generative AI, which can generate text, photos, and videos in response to open-ended prompts, has generated both excitement and concerns. There are fears that AI could render certain jobs obsolete, disrupt elections, and potentially surpass human capabilities, leading to catastrophic consequences.
The issue gained renewed attention after a fake robocall in January, which imitated President Joe Biden, attempted to dissuade individuals from voting for him in New Hampshire’s Democratic primary election. The Federal Communications Commission has recently declared such calls, made with AI-generated voices, as illegal.
The task force’s report will encompass guiding principles, forward-looking recommendations, and bipartisan policy proposals, developed in consultation with relevant congressional committees.
Jeffries emphasized the need for establishing certain boundaries to protect the American people, stating that “the rise of artificial intelligence also presents a unique set of challenges, and certain guardrails must be put in place.”
In October, President Biden signed an executive order aimed at mitigating the risks associated with AI. Additionally, in January, the Department of Commerce proposed regulations requiring U.S. cloud companies to assess whether foreign entities have access to U.S. data centers for training AI models.
Representative Jay Obernolte, the Republican chair of the 24-member task force, expressed that the report would outline regulatory standards and congressional actions necessary to protect consumers, foster continued investment, and encourage innovation in the field of AI.
Democratic co-chair Ted Lieu stressed the importance of ensuring that AI benefits society rather than causing harm, saying, “the question is how to ensure AI benefits society instead of harming us.”
Earlier this month, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced the participation of leading AI companies, including OpenAI, Alphabet’s Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, Amazon.com, and Nvidia, in a new U.S. consortium aimed at supporting the safe deployment of AI.
