Congress To Hold Slew of AI Hearings as Lawmakers Grapple With Legislation

The U.S. Congress will hold three separate hearings on artificial intelligence next week as lawmakers grapple with ways to handle the emerging technology, Reuters reported Friday.

The lineup kicks off with the Senate’s Judiciary subcommittee session on Tuesday titled “Oversight of AI: Legislating on Artificial Intelligence."

The event will bring in top AI executives and industry experts to Washington to help shape legislation on the rising technology, Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who chairs the committee, said on Friday. Microsoft’s President Brad Smith and Nvidia’s chief scientist William Daly are expected to attend the hearing to help lawmakers get a better understanding of the technology.

On the same day, the Senate’s Commerce subcommittee will hold another hearing titled: "Need for Transparency in Artificial Intelligence.” This session will feature Victoria Espinel, CEO of BSA/The Software Alliance and Rob Strayer, executive vice president for policy at the Information Technology Industry Council as witnesses.

And then on Thursday, a House Oversight subcommittee will hold a hearing on the potential risks of AI to federal agencies and possible controls to protect American consumers and digital privacy. The hearing will bring on witnesses including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhaker and the Pentagon's chief digital and artificial intelligence officer Craig Martell alongside the Homeland Security Department's Chief Information Officer Eric Hysen.

"The federal government must harness the incredible potential of AI to achieve its various missions more effectively and efficiently," said Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican who chairs the subcommittee. "However, it is critical that before we let the genie out of the bottle we understand the unique risks of inappropriate use of AI by the federal government."

The three hearings represent a packed week where lawmakers beam their attention on AI regulation. Next Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will also host a closed-door forum with another roll call of top tech industry executives, with the chief executives of Alphabet, Microsoft and OpenAI expected to be in attendance. Wednesday’s meeting is expected to be the first in a series of talks, dubbed “AI insight forums,” tol help lawmakers develop new insights on AI.

All four events, including the three new hearings, show momentum ahead of possible new federal guidance on the use of the technology by the Biden Administration.