Tesla, Meta and Google executives at US Congress for AI

In the US, technology leaders, including top executives of giant companies such as Tesla, Meta, Google, OpenAI and Microsoft, came together in Congress to seek regulation in the field of artificial intelligence. The first artificial intelligence forum organized in Congress under the leadership of New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer was attended by 22 technology company executives, senators from both parties, union and civil society representatives. Entering the meeting, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk told reporters that “a regulator is needed to ensure that companies take actions that are safe and in the public interest,” adding, “It is important for us to have an arbiter.” Schumer, the Senate majority leader, made the opening speech of the meeting and said, “Today, we are starting a very large, complex and vital initiative. The goal is to establish a foundation for bipartisan AI policy that Congress can accept.” Shcumer emphasized that Congress should play a role in artificial intelligence regulation, saying, “Because without Congress, we can neither maximize the benefits of artificial intelligence nor minimize its risks.” The forum, which later continued behind closed doors under Schumer’s moderation, featured discussions of artificial intelligence for a total of 6 hours in 2 parts among senior executives of technology companies with a total asset value of 6.5 trillion, senators, and other participants. “Disappointed that this was not open to the public” Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley criticized the closed-door artificial intelligence forum before the meeting, saying, “This is the largest gathering of technology monopolists, and I am disappointed that it was not a real, public meeting.” Hawley also lamented Congress’s inability to pass meaningful technology legislation, saying, “I don’t know why we are inviting the world’s largest monopolists to come and give Congress tips on how they can help them make more money.” The first congressional AI forum was also of interest, being held in the Kennedy Suites of the Senate office building, where hearings on the sinking of the Titanic, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Watergate scandal were held. In the US, members of Congress have been holding hearings on how to regulate and mitigate potential risks to the new technology, which has seen a boom in investment and consumer popularity since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot. In society, labor union leaders and civil society groups are also concerned about the tech industry’s rush to launch new products that could threaten workers’ employment security and disrupt education.