Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Jun 16, 2025

Washington Is Determined To Govern Artificial Intelligence, But How?

Washington Is Determined To Govern Artificial Intelligence, But How?

Interviews with a US senator, congressional staffers, AI companies and interest groups show there are a number of options under discussion.
US lawmakers are grappling with what guardrails to put around burgeoning artificial intelligence, but months after ChatGPT got Washington's attention, consensus is far from certain.

Interviews with a US senator, congressional staffers, AI companies and interest groups show there are a number of options under discussion.

Some proposals focus on AI that may put people's lives or livelihoods at risk, like in medicine and finance. Other possibilities include rules to ensure AI isn't used to discriminate or violate someone's civil rights.

Another debate is whether to regulate the developer of AI or the company that uses it to interact with consumers. And OpenAI, the startup behind the chatbot sensation ChatGPT, has discussed a standalone AI regulator.

It's uncertain which approaches will win out, but some in the business community, including IBM and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, favor the approach that only regulates critical areas like medical diagnoses, which they call a risk-based approach.

If Congress decides new laws are necessary, the US Chamber's AI Commission advocates that "risk be determined by impact to individuals," said Jordan Crenshaw of the Chamber's Technology Engagement Center. "A video recommendation may not pose as high of a risk as decisions made about health or finances."

Surging popularity of so-called generative AI, which uses data to create new content like ChatGPT's human-sounding prose, has sparked concern the fast-evolving technology could encourage cheating on exams, fuel misinformation and lead to a new generation of scams.

The AI hype has led to a flurry of meetings, including a White House visit this month by the CEOs of OpenAI, its backer Microsoft Corp, and Alphabet Inc. President Joe Biden met with the CEOs.

Congress is similarly engaged, say congressional aides and tech experts.

"Staff broadly across the House and the Senate have basically woken up and are all being asked to get their arms around this," said Jack Clark, co-founder of high-profile AI startup Anthropic, whose CEO also attended the White House meeting. "People want to get ahead of AI, partly because they feel like they didn't get ahead of social media."

As lawmakers get up to speed, Big Tech's main priority is to push against "premature overreaction," said Adam Kovacevich, head of the pro-tech Chamber of Progress.

And while lawmakers like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are determined to tackle AI issues in a bipartisan way, the fact is Congress is polarized, a Presidential election is next year, and lawmakers are addressing other big issues, like raising the debt ceiling.

Schumer's proposed plan requires independent experts to test new AI technologies prior to their release. It also calls for transparency and providing the government with data it needs to avert harm.

Government Micromanagement

The risk-based approach means AI used to diagnose cancer, for example, would be scrutinized by the Food and Drug Administration, while AI for entertainment would not be regulated. The European Union has moved toward passing similar rules.

But the focus on risks seems insufficient to Democratic Senator Michael Bennet, who introduced a bill calling for a government AI task force. He said he advocates for a "values-based approach" to prioritize privacy, civil liberties and rights.

Risk-based rules may be too rigid and fail to pick up dangers like AI's use to recommend videos that promote white supremacy, a Bennet aide added.

Legislators have also discussed how best to ensure AI is not used to racially discriminate, perhaps in deciding who gets a low-interest mortgage, according to a person following congressional discussions who is not authorized to speak to reporters.

At OpenAI, staff have contemplated broader oversight.

Cullen O'Keefe, an OpenAI research scientist, proposed in an April talk at Stanford University the creation of an agency that would mandate that companies obtain licenses before training powerful AI models or operating the data centers that facilitate them. The agency, O'Keefe said, could be called the Office for AI Safety and Infrastructure Security, or OASIS.

Asked about the proposal, Mira Murati, OpenAI's chief technology officer, said a trustworthy body could "hold developers accountable" to safety standards. But more important than the mechanics was agreement "on what are the standards, what are the risks that you're trying to mitigate."

The last major regulator to be created was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was set up after the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

Some Republicans may balk at any AI regulation.

"We should be careful that AI regulatory proposals don't become the mechanism for government micromanagement of computer code like search engines and algorithms," a Senate Republican aide told Reuters.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Black Box Recovered from Air India Crash Site
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Global News Roundup: From Ukraine's strategic military strikes and Russia's demands and Tensions Escalate in Ukraine, to serious legal issues faced by Britons in Bali and Trump's media criticism, the latest developments highlight a turbulent landscape
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
×