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Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Returning from summer break this week, Congress will be seeking answers to pressing questions about the rapid development of artificial intelligence. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, is hosting a private "AI Insight Forum" at the Capitol on Wednesday. Guests include a list of well-known names in tech like Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and newcomers like OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman.
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The event is closed to the media and the public, but a list Axios published in August provided some idea of how comprehensive it would be. Tech sector executives are well-represented, but the MIT Technology Review reported an apparent lack of speakers from organizations examining ethical questions related to AI training and use.
Wednesday will mark the first of a series of planned "listening sessions" as lawmakers seek to understand AI risks and what legislation might be necessary to address them.
In a speech this summer, Schumer expressed concern that "AI is going to move forward without us, and the dangers could be maximized, and the opportunities could be minimized."
He said, "This is going to be one of the most important sessions that Congress has had."
Among the challenges lawmakers face -- besides balancing the potential benefits of AI with the risks -- is that tech companies aren't on the same page. For example, Microsoft and OpenAI might agree that government regulation by a single agency is necessary, but Google and IBM disagree.
Legislators will go into the closed Wednesday meeting with their own priorities.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said AI "innovations aren't necessarily going to come from the Elon Musks and Mark Zuckerbergs -- they're more apt to be the ones who purchase that technology from the people who create the technology."
In future meetings, Schumer also plans to hear representatives from labor, human rights and academic groups to address AI's potential impact on society.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has expressed doubt that Schumer is the right person to spearhead these efforts.
"Schumer uses a flip phone," McCarthy told NBC in an interview earlier this year. "I'm not sure a guy with a flip phone that doesn't even know how to use a smartphone should be talking about what he's doing in AI."
