Senators to be briefed on AI to deepen expertise on ‘pressing topic’

Senators are set to convene for three bipartisan briefings on artificial intelligence (AI) to deepen their expertise on this “pressing topic,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and others announced on Tuesday. 

“As AI transforms our world, the Senate must keep abreast of the extraordinary potential, and risks, AI presents,” reads the “Dear Colleague” letter signed by Schumer and fellow Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

“The Senate must deepen our expertise in this pressing topic,” the senators wrote. “AI is already changing our world, and experts have repeatedly told us that it will have a profound impact on everything from our national security to our classrooms to our workforce, including potentially significant job displacement.”

The first hearing will provide an overview of AI and “what it’s currently capable of,” while the second will touch on the future of the tech and “how it could develop over the next decade.”

The third briefing will be classified — set to cover how the Department of Defense and the intelligence community are using AI, as well as adversaries’ capabilities with the tech. 

Dates and times for the trio of briefings have not yet been released.

The briefing plan comes amid concern about the quickly developing new tech.

During a commencement speech to graduates at the Air Force Academy last week, President Biden recalled meeting with leading scientists in the Oval Office recently to discuss AI, saying “some are very worried that AI can actually overtake human thinking.”

Schumer, Rounds, Heinrich and Young stressed in the Tuesday letter that senators need to learn more about AI and “consider both the benefits and risks of this technology.”