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The House has announced its intention to establish a bipartisan task force aimed at creating rules and restrictions for artificial intelligence (AI).
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) have selected 12 members each to participate in this effort. The task force, led by Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA), is expected to deliver a report featuring both recommendations for the future and bipartisan policy proposals concerning AI.
The goal of this task force is to position the United States as a “leader in AI innovation” while simultaneously addressing the technology’s potential security implications. In a statement, Speaker Johnson said, “Because advancements in artificial intelligence have the potential to rapidly transform our economy and our society, it is important for Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to understand and plan for both the promises and the complexities of this transformative technology.”
Despite the hesitancy in regulating AI, especially in an election year, there is a pressing demand for legislative action. This comes after a series of hearings and forums which have debated AI’s risks and benefits. In a notable gathering last September, over 60 senators met with tech leaders, including Elon Musk of Tesla and X, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, to discuss AI usage within their companies. Although the discussions were extensive, they did not culminate in a unified strategy for AI regulation.
In his statement, Minority Leader Jeffries emphasized the necessity of establishing “certain guardrails” to shield the public from the potential exploitation of AI by “bad actors.” He expressed optimism about the task force’s capability to address these concerns through bipartisan cooperation, stating, “The Members appointed to this Task Force bring a wide range of experience and expertise across the committees of jurisdiction and I look forward to working with them to tackle these issues in a bipartisan way.”
