While negotiations began with Young and Schumer, they didn’t end there. Rather, the pair heard input from other congressional committees and incorporated that into the final package.
“That was the most use I’ve seen of the committee process since I’ve been in Congress, and I think it’s an opportunity to be even more inclusive,” says Young. “Senator Schumer and I started with legislation, but then we drew extensively from various jurisdictional committees. I think this effort will be even more decentralized.”
While many senators will introduce their own AI measures, Young says the bipartisan effort is aimed at getting lawmakers on the same wavelength.
“So some of us may have bills, but the real emphasis here will be on bringing in ideas from others, so I think this will be more committee-oriented,” says Young.
Schumer’s Democratic partner in the AI talks is New Mexico Democrat Heinrich, who says the closed-door meetings in the Senate are meant to help strengthen the Senate’s longstanding committees.
“I think where we are now, everyone is encouraged by the normal processes,” says Heinrich. “Different commissions will have very different jurisdictions.”
And there are many committees and many AI-related issues to address. For example, the Judiciary Committee will have to resolve copyright issues, the Armed Services Committee will deal with issues of war, peace, and nuclear Armageddon (concerns expressed by Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey). And the Education Committee will address the potential impact of AI on public education.
Lawmakers — and their collaborators — also need to delve into today’s laws to see which works and which should be rebooted, such as copyright law in the AI era. “Some of that, the existing law is adequate, and in other places it’s not,” says Heinrich.
Count critics
For now, AI conversations have largely stayed above partisan strife. Last week, a bipartisan, bicameral group unveiled a new proposal to create a national AI committee — made up of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans — to tackle AI in a more down-to-earth way than we might think. Congress are used to. Still, critics in favor of the industry are beginning to express concern over what they see as a rush to regulate.
“Putting the federal government in charge of granular AI development is a strategy that will surely see China beat us in AI development by all accounts — and that would be catastrophic,” said Senator Ted Cruz.
Cruz is the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which has wide-ranging jurisdiction over the economy. The junior senator from Texas fears Congress will overstep and destroy innovation in the name of digital protectionism.
“I think that’s reckless. Very few members of Congress have any idea what AI is, let alone how to regulate it. There are undoubtedly risks and hazards that we should take seriously, but there are also huge potential productivity gains. And the last thing we want is to turn technological innovation into the Department of Motor Vehicles,” says Cruz.
Like his 99 colleagues, Cruz will have his say in due course. While the bipartisan AI Working Group is not focused on drafting a massive, all-encompassing AI bill, members know such legislation could be the final outcome, following the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.
If that happens, it will be legislation unlike anything the Senate has ever seen, in part because AI appears to be all-encompassing.
“It’s going to be big. It’s going to be big and we hope all the relevant committees do the hard work to find out where those things are,” says Heinrich. “Hopefully we can get on the same wavelength about some of those things and then together packing.”
