Senate holds first hearing on AI risks, regulations

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday called on lawmakers to regulate artificial intelligence programs like his company’s ChatGPT tool. Altman and other leaders in the technology industry testified before a Senate committee considering how to regulate the increasingly powerful technology. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said people could use chatbot tools to spread disinformation or take jobs away from human workers. Blumenthal began the hearing by playing an AI-generated recording of his voice.

How are other countries responding to AI programs? A European Parliament committee last week voted to strengthen a two-year-old legislative proposal intended to regulate artificial intelligence. The proposal would require programs like ChatGPT to disclose any copyrighted material used to develop their system. China released draft measures in April to restrict the technology.

Dig deeper: Listen to Myrna Brown’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about why tech leaders are calling for a pause in developing AI tools.