On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared that he had initiated a campaign to establish regulations regarding AI like ChatGPT in light of national security and education concerns as tools like ChatGPT continue to spread.
In a statement, the Democratic Senator said he had drafted and distributed a “framework that outlines a new regulatory regime that would prevent potentially catastrophic damage to our country while simultaneously making sure the U.S. advances and leads in this transformative technology.”
The attention of U.S. lawmakers has been caught by ChatGPT, an AI program that has recently gained public interest for its rapid ability to produce answers to a wide range of queries. It has become the fastest-growing consumer application in history, with over 100 million monthly active users.
The approval of Congress and the White House will be necessary for Schumer’s plan, which could take several months or more to come into effect. Nonetheless, it represents the most significant move to date that the U.S. government may take to regulate generative AI, causing increasing concern.
Schumer emphasized that “time is of the essence to get ahead of this powerful new technology to prevent potentially wide-ranging damage to society and national security and instead put it to positive use by advancing strong, bipartisan legislation.”
Under Schumer’s proposal, companies would be required to permit independent experts to evaluate and test AI technologies before public release or update, and users would be given access to these findings. He has yet to draft legislation.
Schumer pointed to China’s recent release of its own approach to regulating AI, calling it “a wake-up call to the nation.” He stressed that it is essential for the United States to lead and shape the regulations governing such a transformative technology rather than allowing China to dominate innovation or set the rules.
According to Schumer’s office, he has been “discussing and circulating a high-level framework that outlines a new regulatory regime for artificial intelligence and engaging leading experts in the field to help inform the proposal” for several months.
Last week, President Joe Biden remarked that whether AI is dangerous remains to be seen. “Tech companies have a responsibility, in my view, to make sure their products are safe before making them public,” he stated. The Commerce Department has requested public comments on potential accountability measures for AI.
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