As AI makes gains, Sen. Chuck Schumer wants framework to regulate it

April 13 (UPI) -- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday that lawmakers are working to come up with legislation that will help officials regulate artificial intelligence technologies.

Schumer's announcement was made to Axios and confirmed by The Hill.

"Given the AI industry's consequential and fast-moving impact on society, national security, and the global economy, I've worked with some of the leading AI practitioners and thought leaders to create a framework that outlines a new regulatory regime," Schumer said in a statement to The Hill.

Schumer said he hoped that the legislative framework "would prevent potentially catastrophic damage to our country" while also ensuring the U.S. take a global lead in AI development.

Companies would be required to allow independent experts to review AI technology ahead of public releases and updates, according to The Hill. Schumer said he would work with academics, advocacy groups and the government to refine his proposed legislation.

A source who spoke to Axios described Schumer's legislative push as urgent and time sensitive and The Hill noted that Schumer as the top lawmaker in the U.S. Senate has control over the upper chamber's legislative calendar.

However, a potential bill would need support from some Republicans to pass the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate.

The news comes after the popularity of the recent released of the chatbot ChatGPT from OpenAI. The release of the chatbot has already led to swift developments in the AI marketplace.

Last week, Expedia announced that it had added a feature powered by ChatGPT to help travelers with their travel planning.

Meanwhile, a South Korean bank has said that its ATMs powered by artificial intelligence have successfully reduced phishing scams, and defense contractor Lockheed Martin said in February that a tactical airplane was flown by AI for the first time.

In the health world, a South Korean startup has received approval from the European Union to use artificial intelligence to detect cancer. A new study has also said that artificial intelligence beats sonographers in assessing heart health using ultrasound technology.

Despite the quick advances, hundreds of tech leaders and researchers have warned AI labs to stop training their systems with human-competitive intelligence.

"Recent months have seen AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one -- not even their creators -- can understand, predict, or reliably control," the letter, published by the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, warned.

"Advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on Earth, and should be planned for and managed with commensurate care and resources."