Some politicians say that Biden and Harris are “not the ones” who should lead the White House’s artificial intelligence efforts.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lawmakers in Congress agreed that AI needs to be regulated by the government. Still, many doubted President Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris could lead the effort.
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida told Fox News, “I wouldn’t trust Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to be able to use an iPhone well, let alone be a key part of AI policy.” “That said, I think Ted Lieu and Ro Khanna, two of the smartest people in the Democratic Party, are giving these issues a lot of thought on Capitol Hill.”
Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin told Fox News, “Neither the president nor the vice president should be in charge of AI. It’s a very hard thing to understand.”
Biden and Harris met with tech executives at the beginning of this month to discuss AI’s possible risks and possibilities. This week, the White House announced new plans to improve AI research and development, study how AI affects education, and get public feedback on AI goals to ensure “equity.”
The Biden administration, politicians on Capitol Hill, and AI developers are all coming to the same conclusion: AI needs rules to keep risks in check. But there is still disagreement about who should run the point.
Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson said Biden and Harris should collaborate to lead the White House’s AI efforts.
She told Fox News, “No one has a real handle on it and no one has the right prescription, so you’ll need both of them in AI.”
But Rep. Tim Burchett disagreed.
“We need to do something about it, but not those two,” said the Tennessee Republican.
“The government’s involvement in that will make it worse,” Burchett said next. “This thing needs to be driven by the market.”
Last week, a few people who live in D.C. told Fox News that Harris couldn’t run the executive office’s AI attempts well.
Some politicians said that a group of AI experts would best push the White House’s AI plans.
Republican Rep. Nathaniel Moran said, “I don’t have a lot of faith in either President Biden or Vice President Harris, but I think we need industry experts in the room, people who understand the technology behind AI.” “That can help both the legislative and executive branches figure out how to deal with AI’s real problems.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw didn’t think Biden or Harris could “really do something with AI.”
The Texas Republican said, “Maybe it’s a commission that looks into it.”
