In an engaging twist, the Senate Judiciary Committee used artificial intelligence (AI) to kickstart a series of hearings on the very same topic. The first session welcomed OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, who faced senators eager to regulate this burgeoning technology, yet more welcoming than they've been with other tech giants.
In a unique opening, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) used a text-to-voice generator trained on his speeches, to showcase the technology under the spotlight. A stark contrast to the often frosty reception given to CEOs of companies like Meta and TikTok.
Altman, aligned with the senators' sentiments, advocated for a new agency dedicated to AI regulation and the licensing of its development by large corporations. "We believe that the benefits of the tools we have deployed so far vastly outweigh the risks. However, we think that regulatory intervention by governments will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful models," Altman stated.
This fresh wave of optimism was underscored by a sense of urgency. Sen. Blumenthal said, "We need to maximize the good over the bad. Congress has a choice now. We had the same choice when we faced social media. We failed to seize that moment. Now we have the obligation to do it on AI before the threats and the risks become real."
Despite the sense of urgency, Congress' plan for AI regulation remains nebulous after the first hearing. Suggestions ranged from creating a new regulatory agency to holding AI companies liable for any user harm. The series of hearings planned for the summer aim to solidify these strategies, indicating an exciting period of change on the AI regulation front.
