OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of a broad-view conversation about the future of artificial intelligence. OpenAI, founded by Altman and Elon Musk in 2019, is a research company and accelerator focused on developing safe and beneficial artificial intelligence (AI) globally. The goal of their technology is to help humanity tackle global challenges such as climate change and economic inequality.
ChatGPT, a product developed by OpenAI, recently made headlines after it was released for public use in early 2020. This natural language processing (NLP) model was designed to create natural sounding dialogues between two users – one human and one AI assistant.
In light of these developments, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress recognized the need for regulations to better enable their constituents to understand and understand the implications of AI technologies. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) made opening remarks that were partly generated by AI, echoing the past failure of Congress to regulate social media adequately. Other representatives at the hearing included Christina Montgomery, the Chair of IBM’s AI Ethics Board, and Gary Marcus, a professor at New York University.
As AI technologies continue to expand and enter the mainstream, both businesses and consumers must ensure that they are aware of the potential risks and rewards of integrating AI into their lives. AI may have the potential to automate traditionally human-led tasks, but it can also increase efficiency and reduce time wasted on mundane tasks. Congress is undertaking an effort to ensure that these technologies are regulated responsibly so that they can positively impact the lives of Americans.
