Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-NY) latest "Insight Forums," held Wednesday, explored protecting elections from the influence of artificial intelligence and ensuring user data is kept private.
The two events were the fifth and sixth forum in Schumer's series, meant to help Congress expedite the drafting of legislation so that the United States has guardrails for the technology. These two particular events may answer matters that Congress has prioritized in the election year.
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Here's what Congress discussed on Wednesday's forums.
Elections and democracy
The first session was on Wednesday morning and dealt primarily with "democracy and elections." The session focused on how AI will affect elections and pose risks through misinformation and disinformation.
The discussion focused on technological responses to AI-generated content, such as watermarking, or the attachment of a symbol to images or text to identify them as AI-generated, Schumer told reporters, and establishing penalties for those who attempt to create harm with the technology.
"We really need to step back," Jennifer Huddleston, technology policy research fellow at the libertarian CATO Institute, told the Washington Examiner, "and ask if [this law] is about the tool or is it about a particular use of the tool?"
Huddleston noted that many questions facing AI-generated misinformation had been answered before and that any laws should be specific. For example, which uses of AI will require watermarking? The technology can be used to edit people out of photos, generate fake images, refine images, and so much more. Legislation will need to identify the instances where the technology is relevant, Huddleston said.
The speakers included Huddleston, Stanford Internet Observatory Director Alex Stamos, Microsoft Director of Information Integrity Matt Masterson, Utah Lieutenant Gov. Deidre Henderson, and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
One possible legislation would be the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act, a bill introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NY), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) to require political ads to have disclaimers if their content is AI generated. Microsoft, Meta, and Google endorsed Klobuchar's legislation during the forum, the Minnesota Democrat told reporters. Schumer also upheld it is a possible bill to pass but said a lot of work would need to occur beforehand.
Addressing the effects of AI on elections has been one of the top issues for Schumer. When asked about his plans, he maintained that he would attempt to get legislation passed in "months." Klobuchar said that the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act would need additional sponsors before getting marked up in committee.
Privacy and Liability
The second session was on privacy and liability. The event discussed the "collection, use, and retention" of data by AI developers.
The event's panel featured American Psychological Association CEO Arthur Evans Jr., Match Group CEO Bernard Kim, Mozilla President Mark Surman, and Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro.
The entire panel agreed that comprehensive national privacy regulations were needed, Schumer told reporters. "Binding rules, focused on privacy, openness, and transparency, will allow everyone to share in the benefits of AI," Surman told attendees in his opening remarks. However, the panelists could not point to a singular bill that could provide that national framework.
The United States will need to take a Goldilocks-esque "just right" approach to privacy and innovation, Shapiro told the Washington Examiner. The U.S. will have to find a way to balance the intrusive approach adopted by China with the privacy-focused protections promoted by the European Union, Shapiro said.
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Past forums have addressed the technology's impact on the workforce, high-impact industries, and "transformative innovation."
The Senate majority leader assured reporters on Wednesday that he would meet with other lawmakers to begin discussing the next steps regarding legislation and that additional forums were scheduled in the coming weeks.