Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced plans to host several new hearings to understand the growing industry of artificial intelligence, including the first classified one to cover the military’s use of the technology.
Schumer sent a letter in partnership with Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Todd Young (R-IN) on Tuesday to discuss three hearings planned for over the summer for senators. The hearings would cover where AI is currently, the frontier of the technology, and how the technology is being used by the Department of Defense and intelligence community. That third hearing will be classified.
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“As AI transforms our world, the Senate must keep abreast of the extraordinary potential, and risks, AI presents,” Schumer wrote.
Schumer said he had been working closely with the White House, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on the plans.
Schumer previously announced he was working on legislation with experts that would regulate AI in a manner acceptable to Republicans and Democrats. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) has introduced legislation to create a task force investigating AI policies and their effect on civil liberties.
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The European Union is also considering legislation that would place bans on biometric surveillance, emotional recognition, predictive policing, and other AI-powered products. It would also require AI products to be transparent about the data used in their training.
Industry executives have called for regulation of the sector. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has pushed for national and international regulators to track the technology’s development.
