Big Names Headed Towards Schumer’s AI Forum

(TheConservativeTimes.org) – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) scheduled his AI Insights Forum for mid-September on Capitol Hill to discuss plans for regulating artificial intelligence. Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and other titans in the technology industry will attend, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, and CEO of Alphabet Sundar Pichai.

Others from workers, advocacy, civil rights, and other organizations will also attend due to the potential dangers of AI.

The event, while led by the Democratic leader, will have Senators from both parties co-organizing, including Todd Young (R-IN), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM). With the rapid acceleration of technology and the legislation on Congress falling behind, it has become a bipartisan issue to see what Congress should do next.

Schumer has asserted that AI will reshape the world for the better but that there will be dangers to the workforce and more misinformation. While Schumer was not skeptical of the 2020 election results and their integrity, he is concerned that AI could threaten US elections, especially with “deep fake” technology. With the creation of a forum, rather than hearings which Congress has held in the past, Schumer hopes to give a comprehensive briefing to Senators without them appearing ignorant. He wants to develop a bipartisan consensus on legislation, which isn’t likely to move forward until 2024.

With the 2024 elections around the corner, any framework for legislation Schumer wishes to pass likely will need bipartisan consensus. Republicans are more likely to regain Senate control than Democrats are to retain the chamber due to races Democrats would need to win in Trump-friendly states. With Trump likely on the ballot in 2024 and split-party voting decreasing overall, Democrats would have to win Senate races in Montana and West Virginia, which is less likely. Regardless of the political drama and the potential aftermath of the 2024 election, Schumer hopes to solidify bipartisan consensus on an issue many in Congress are ill-informed about.