Congress in No Rush to Regulate AI

As some artificial intelligence executives call for slowing the technology’s development, different politicians are reacting in very different ways.

While Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has demanded a pause to frontier AI development, President Donald Trump has declared that fears of an AI takeover are a hoax.

In Congress, lawmakers are renewing calls to regulate the burgeoning technology.

The House’s departure on Sept. 16, likely until after the midterms, put a damper on the talk of rapidly regulating AI.

Those realities haven’t stopped Washington from trying.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) attempted on Sept. 16 to pass his AI “kill switch” bill through unanimous consent. The long-shot effort was thwarted by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

“We’ve got this risk out there that we know is real of one of these models becoming the Terminator,” he said in a floor speech on the legislation.

Other lawmakers seeking to advance AI-related legislation include Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) and Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.).

Obernolte, a computer scientist with a graduate-level education in AI, told reporters on Sept. 14 that “everything is moving” on the Great American AI Act, which he cosponsored with Trahan. The framework legislation’s provisions have been parceled across multiple committees.

“This is not a sudden process at all. It’s been very deliberate,” he told The Epoch Times regarding the act, noting that it took more than a year to draft.

The AI competition between China and the United States has cast a shadow over the regulation debate.

Vice President JD Vance said on Sept. 14 that competition means the United States must “do things smartly” but “stay ahead of the curve” as firms call for regulation.

The spokesperson for China’s foreign minister said the calls to pace frontier models from top U.S. AI executives amount to “malicious competition.”

Why? It might have something to do with the edge that top American firms might enjoy if progress (or public openness) ebbs under government fiat.

While the top U.S. models are often closed-source, China has sought to compete with cheaper open-source products that are often trained on the best American models.

Tighter security at the frontier could lock in domestic leaders. Everyone else—American, Chinese, or otherwise—could be stuck peering over a wall.

In the view of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), AI leaders now calling for regulations are motivated by economic self-interest.

“For those companies to ask us to regulate them tells me that they expect to be able to write the regulations,” he told The Epoch Times. “I believe they’re saying this to try to keep the democratization of AI from happening.”

Vance said the companies’ call for regulation feels “like a bit of a Trojan Horse.”

—Nathan Worcester

BOOKMARKS

A federal judge has ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before performing any major changes to the building’s structure. That came after President Donald Trump said the building needed renovation; otherwise, “It’ll end up being ripped down,” he said.

A Minnesota resident who pleaded guilty to spraying vinegar on Rep. Ilhan Omar earlier this year was sentenced on Thursday to 14 months in prison. Anthony James Kazmierczak, 55, admitted to assaulting her with a mixture of apple-cider vinegar and water from a syringe as she spoke at a January town hall in Minneapolis.

The White House on Thursday withdrew the nomination of Marine veteran and former Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It provided no explanation for the withdrawal and didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Health officials said this week they are making headway in the fight to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Congo. “We are now starting to see encouraging signs that we are gaining ground,” the director general of the World Health Organization said.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stepped down on Thursday, after left-wing factions won control of the government by three seats. Social Democratic leader Magdalena Andersson responded to the result by saying on X that “the Swedish people have voted for a new direction” for the country.

—Stacy Robinson