Do AI risks need to be strictly regulated? U.S. senators retort: Being too harsh will make the United States lose its advantage

**Source: **Financial Associated Press

Editor Huang Junzhi

Image source: Generated by Unbounded AI

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes extremely popular this year, the U.S. government, political leaders, and industry leaders have all proposed strengthening supervision.

But U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said on Monday that the United States must lead the world in artificial intelligence and risk losing its advantage if Congress implements the “tough” regulation of AI sought by Democrats and some Republicans.

“I think it’s a strange suggestion to let the federal government step in with a strict regulatory system,” he said in an interview. Isn’t this asking the federal government to block all new technological innovations because our opponents will not stop. "

He specifically criticized the idea of requiring prior approval for artificial intelligence innovation, acknowledging that the technology carries risks but that Congress lacks the understanding to properly rule on it.

“There aren’t even five members of Congress who can tell you what artificial intelligence is, and they don’t understand the risks of artificial intelligence,” he said.

There is still no consensus on how to regulate

His comments came less than a week after tech leaders descended on Washington for a closed artificial intelligence forum organized by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. There was broad agreement at the high-profile summit that the federal government should play an oversight role, but there was far from consensus on what form that oversight role should take.

Recommendations from lawmakers include a ban on the use of automatic weapons-launching systems without human intervention and explicit labeling of AI-generated images in political ads.

Earlier this month, Senators Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley, the top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Technology Subcommittee, proposed a bipartisan regulatory framework for artificial intelligence that would lay out guidelines for future legislation. The recommendations include creating an independent government office to enforce licensing requirements for companies developing artificial intelligence and promote legal accountability.

In this regard, some companies including Microsoft and OpenAI agreed, while IBM and others expressed opposition. At last week’s forum, labor and civil society representatives warned of the risks AI poses to workers, mental health and democracy.

The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing on artificial intelligence on Tuesday afternoon, with a focus on national security.