Sam Altman urges the US to regulate artificial intelligence

OpenAI chief Sam Altman testified before the US Congress, urging the government to regulate the use and development of artificial intelligence. As reported by BBC.

The entrepreneur proposed creating a new agency for AI matters, which would issue and revoke licenses for AI systems.

“The United States could consider a mix of licensing and testing requirements for the development and deployment of models that exceed a threshold of capability,” Altman said.

He also believes that companies like OpenAI should undergo independent audits.

The entrepreneur acknowledged the technology’s impact on the economy, including on the labour market and job losses in certain sectors.

“This will affect jobs. We are trying to be as clear as possible on this issue,” he said.

According to Altman, he is concerned about the potential impact on democracy and the role of AI in disinformation campaigns, especially during elections.

Some congressmen pressed for a legislative framework to make it easier for people to sue OpenAI.

According to Senator Richard Blumenthal, a future in which AI dominates “is not necessarily what we want”.

“We need to maximise the good over the bad. Now Congress has a choice. We had the same choice when we faced social networks. We failed to seize that moment,” warned he.

Senator Josh Hawley said that AI could be revolutionary. However, he also compared the new technology to the invention of the atomic bomb.

Participants noted a positive tone to the hearings. Lawmakers also voiced bipartisan support for creating a new agency to regulate the industry.

However, lawmakers noted the rapid pace of development. They are not sure the new agency will be able to keep pace with the times.

The day before the hearings, Altman delivered a presentation to 60 lawmakers. Lawmakers said they were impressed by the briefing. After the main part, the entrepreneur spent two hours answering questions from politicians.

Representative Ted Lieu said that Altman demonstrated a version of ChatGPT that some lawmakers had never seen before.

In May, Vice President Kamala Harris held a meeting with Altman and other tech-giant executives, during which they discussed the risks of artificial intelligence.

In April, Elon Musk spoke about the development of the technology with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

In March, hundreds of experts signed an open letter calling for a halt to experiments with large language models.