AI came to Washington in a big way. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared before Congress for his first-ever testimony, speaking at a hearing called by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley. The topic? How to oversee and establish safeguards for artificial intelligence.

The hearing lasted nearly three hours and focused largely on Altman, though Christina Montgomery, an IBM executive, and Gary Marcus, a leading AI expert, academic, and entrepreneur, also testified. During the hearing, Altman covered a wide range of topics, including a discussion of different risks posed by generative AI, what should be done to address those risks, and how companies should develop AI technology. Altman even suggested that AI companies be regulated, possibly through the creation of one or more federal agencies and/or some type of licensing requirement.

The hearing was divisive. Some experts applauded what they saw as much-needed urgency from the federal government to tackle important AI safety issues. Others criticized the hearing for being far too friendly, citing worries that companies like OpenAI are angling to have undue influence over the regulatory and legislative process.

An important note: This hearing appeared to be informational in nature. It was not called because OpenAI is in trouble. And it appears to be the first of many such hearings and committee meetings on AI that will happen moving forward.

In this episode, Paul and Mike tackled the hearing from three different angles as our three main topics today, as well as talked about a series of lower-profile government meetings that occurred.

First, they do a deep dive into what happened, what was discussed, and what it means for marketers and business leaders. 

Then they took a closer look at the biggest issues in AI safety that were discussed during the hearing and that the hearing is designed to address. At one point during the hearing, Altman said "My worst fear is we cause significant harm to the world.” Lawmakers and the AI experts at the hearing cited several AI safety risks they’re losing sleep over. Overarching concerns included election misinformation, job disruption, copyright and licensing, generally harmful or dangerous content, and the pace of change. 

Finally, Paul and Mike talked through the regulatory measures proposed during the hearing and what dangers there are, if any, of OpenAI or other AI companies tilting the regulatory process in their favor. Some tough questions were raised in the process. Senate Judiciary Chair Senator Dick Durbin suggested the need for a new agency to oversee the development of AI, and possibly an international agency.

Gary Marcus said there should be a safety review, similar to what is used with the FDA for drugs, to vet AI systems before they are deployed widely, advocating for what he called a “nimble monitoring agency.” On the subject of agencies, Senator Blumenthal cautioned that the agency or agencies must be well-resourced, with both money and the appropriate experts. Without those, he said, AI companies would “run circles around us.”

As expected, this discussion wasn’t without controversy. Tune in to this critically important episode of The Marketing AI Show. Find it on your favorite podcast player and be sure to explore the links below.

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