Key Points
- Bipartisan bills targeting government AI usage have been tabled by U.S. senators.
- One of the bills seeks to form a new office of Global Competition Analysis aimed at helping the U.S. maintain its lead in innovation.
U.S. senators seek to bring transparency and innovation to America via AI
U.S. Senators have introduced a bipartisan bill to increase the transparency behind AI usage and foster innovation. The first bill was tabled on June 8 by Democratic Senator Gary Peters and Republican Senators Mike Braun and James Linkford.
Their bill requires the government to be transparent about how it uses Artificial Intelligence (AI). If passed, governmental organizations would be required to give an account of when and how it interacts with AI to the public, along with a system of appeal for citizens to engage in decisions made using Artificial Intelligence.
Regarding the bill, Senator Mike Braun stated:
“The federal government needs to be proactive and transparent with AI utilization and ensure that decisions aren’t being made without humans in the driver’s seat.”
The second bill was introduced by Democratic Senators Michael Bennet and Mike Warner alongside Republican Senator Young Todd. This bill seeks to establish an office of Global Competition analysis. This new office will be helpful for the U.S. to keep ahead of the curve with emerging technologies and innovation.
It comes at a time when the general public is concerned about the efforts to help the country maintain its lead in innovation basis. Regarding the bill, Senator Michael Bennet said:
“We cannot afford to lose our competitive edge in strategic technologies like semiconductors, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence to competitors like China.“
These bills come after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for three briefings to educate lawmakers on Artificial Intelligence (AI) matters. These efforts by U.S. Senators come when the world is trying hard to advance in the industry, thus making them strategic.
Earlier this week, the U.K. stressed the need for stricter AI regulations, which would typically be at the same grade as nuclear weaponry and Medicine. Elsewhere, major governments like China and Russia have kept their cool on the matter, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t be researching it.