As AI booms, tech has no rules

WASHINGTON >> In recent weeks, two members of Congress have sounded the alarm over the dangers of artificial intelligence.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-los Angeles, wrote in a guest essay in The New York Times in January that he was “freaked out” by the ability of the CHATGPT chatbot to mimic human writers. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-mass., gave a one-minute speech — written by a chatbot — calling for regulation of AI.

But even as lawmakers put a spotlight on the technology, few are taking action on it. No bill has been proposed to protect individuals or thwart the development of AI’S potentially dangerous aspects. And legislation introduced in recent years to curb AI applications like facial recognition have withered in Congress.

The problem is that most lawmakers do not even know what AI is, said Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-hesperia, the only member of Congress with a master’s degree in artificial intelligence.

“Before regulation, there needs to be agreement on what the dangers are, and that requires a deep understanding of what AI is,” he said. “You’d be surprised how much time I spend explaining to my colleagues that the chief dangers of AI will not come from evil robots with red lasers coming out of their eyes.”

The inaction over AI is part of a familiar pattern, in which technology is again outstripping U.S. rule-making and regulation. Lawmakers have long struggled to understand new innovations, once describing the internet as a “series of tubes.”

For just as long, companies have worked to slow down regulations, saying the industry needs few roadblocks as the United States competes with China for tech leadership.

That means Washington is taking a hands-off stance as an AI boom has gripped Silicon Valley.

The spread of AI, which has spawned chatbots that can write poetry and cars that drive themselves, has provoked a debate over its limits.