‘AI 101’ briefing draws strong interest from senators
Christopher Hutton
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An unusual briefing Tuesday on artificial intelligence drew strong interest from senators working on an expedited time frame to draft legislation to regulate the use of the technology.
The Senate held an all-senator briefing on Tuesday featuring MIT professor Antonio Torralba speaking on AI and offering a basic primer to the lawmakers in attendance. Attendees described it as “AI 101” and said it offered a start for understanding the subject.
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“I think the general consensus says that artificial intelligence can make our lives better if it doesn’t kill us first,” Sen John Kennedy (R-LA) told reporters. “And I think what most senators want to do is understand it better.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who organized the briefing, said the “thirst for knowledge is deep and strong.” He also said interest in understanding the technology was bipartisan.
Schumer said he would host two additional briefings on AI in the near term and would get into the specifics of legislation sometime in the fall. That is an accelerated pace for the upper chamber, which is scheduled to be out of Washington in August.
Torralba is the Delta Electronics professor of electrical engineering and computer science and currently serves in MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
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The next two briefings will deal with the future of the AI industry and how the Department of Defense and the intelligence community use the technology.
Schumer previously announced he was working on legislation with experts that would regulate AI in a bipartisan manner. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) has introduced legislation to create a task force investigating AI policies and their effect on civil liberties.