By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congress will hold three hearings on artificial intelligence next week, including one with Microsoft President Brad Smith and Nvidia chief scientist William Daly, as Congress works on legislation to mitigate the dangers of the emerging technology.
A Senate Judiciary subcommittee will hold a hearing Tuesday titled “Oversight of AI: Legislating on Artificial Intelligence.”
“Top industry executives and leading experts will help us shape legislation to protect against harm from AI,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who chairs the panel, said Friday.
Blumenthal and the top Republican on the panel, Josh Hawley, on Friday released a draft of a bipartisan legislative framework to create guardrails for artificial intelligence, which would “outline specific principles for the coming legislative efforts, including the creation of an independent oversight body, which ensures legal liability for harm, defending national security, promoting transparency and protecting consumers and children.”
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will separately host technology leaders and experts at an AI forum on Wednesday, including Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla.
A subcommittee of House Oversight will hold a hearing Thursday that will look at the potential risks in AI adoption by federal agencies, along with the adequacy of safeguards to protect individual privacy and ensure fair treatment.
Witnesses include Arati Prabhaker, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Craig Martell, the Pentagon’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, and Eric Hysen, chief information officer of the Homeland Security Department.
“The federal government must leverage the incredible potential of AI to accomplish its various missions more effectively and efficiently,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican who chairs the subcommittee. “However, before we let the genie out of the bottle, it is critical that we understand the unique risks of inappropriate use of AI by the federal government.”
A Senate Commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the “Need for Transparency in Artificial Intelligence,” involving Victoria Espinel, CEO of BSA/The Software Alliance, and Rob Strayer, executive vice president for policy at the Information Technology Industry Council , will participate.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Bill Berkrot)
