"Big Four" Senators Respond to AI Executive Order and Contribute Additional AI Forums, Including on Privacy/Liability
Summary
The Biden Administration’s AI EO arrived on the heels of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) second “AI Insight Forum,” where the Majority Leader outlined the need to provide for $32 billion in annual federal investment to enable the US to lead in safe innovation. Following the AI EO’s release, Leader Schumer and Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Todd Young (R-IN) (collectively, the “Big Four”) met with President Biden to discuss a path forward on AI legislation. Leader Schumer said the meeting was constructive and focused on bipartisanship and investment, noting that the lawmakers will continue to closely coordinate with the White House. Sen. Rounds said the meeting focused on both regulating and furthering US leadership in AI, with the goal of bringing talent to the US and enhancing innovation. Following the second AI Insight Forum, the “Big Four” have convened four additional forums over the past couple of weeks: Third Forum: At the third forum, which focused on the workforce, lawmakers outlined the need to prioritize incentives for companies to train AI-capable workers, while leaving guardrails to be worked out by congressional committees. The full list of speakers, and their statements, is available here. Fourth Forum: The fourth forum focused on how AI developers and deployers can mitigate potential harms in “high impact” areas such as the financial sector and health industry. The full list of speakers, and their statements, is available here. Fifth Forum: The fifth forum was focused on elections and democracy. The full list of speakers, and their statements, is available here. Sixth Forum: At the sixth forum, which focused on privacy and liability, Leader Schumer and Sen. Young led the privacy-focused panel, while Sens. Rounds and Heinrich led the liability discussion. Participants, including those from Public Knowledge and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), broadly reiterated the need to enact a comprehensive federal privacy law. In the absence of such legislation, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) outlined the need for any AI legislation to, at a , minimum, encompass protections that would address the privacy harms created and exacerbated by use of AI. The full list of speakers, and their statements, is available here.
