In an initiative aimed at addressing the challenges posed by rapidly evolving artificial intelligence (AI) technology, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has launched a discussion forum on artificial intelligence on 13 September, which will be attended by top tech leaders including Tesla's Elon Musk, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, Schumer's own office announced.
This closed-door forum will also be attended by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, according to Schumer's office, which stressed that the event will be bipartisan.
The growing popularity of artificial intelligence and investment in this technology has led several governments to consider how to mitigate its risks. This momentum has intensified especially after the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT, which has attracted attention and usage from consumers of all kinds, and from enterprises.
In June, Schumer hinted at his intention to host a forum to "lay a new foundation for AI policy." The senator said: "We need the best of the best sitting around the table: top AI developers, executives, scientists, advocates, community leaders, workers, and national security experts, all together in one room, doing years of work on a matter of months," according to the Senate Democrats' website.
Regulators worldwide have been scrambling to establish rules governing the use of generative AI, which can create text and images whose artificial origin is virtually undetectable. Its impact is so great that it has already been compared to that of the arrival of the Internet.
The risks of artificial intelligence to national security and the economy must be addressed, US President Joe Biden said in June, adding that he would seek expert advice. In that vein, Biden has recently discussed the AI issue with world leaders, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose government is holding a global summit on AI security later this year.
In the framework of these efforts and the growing need to regulate the field of AI, the forum organized by Schumer brings together influential technology leaders and experts to explore the challenges and opportunities of this technology and lay the foundations for its future regulation. The meeting, which is expected to last 2-3 hours, will focus on the implications of artificial intelligence in different fields. This bipartisan initiative seeks to educate policymakers about evolving technology and promote a regulatory framework that effectively addresses its implications.
Despite the commitment of technology leaders and the relevance of the discussion, some observers have expressed some skepticism about whether the private sector is truly prepared to deal with government regulations in the fast-paced and dynamic environment of artificial intelligence.
