Both chambers of Congress are taking a good look at AI and crypto as they head back into session for the next three weeks before the start of an August recess that will last through Labor Day.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released a “Dear Colleague” letter on Sunday revealing the democratic party’s policy goals for the upcoming session, and artificial Intelligence was a central focus.
Schumer intends “to build on [his] SAFE Innovation Framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI) – an outline for how the Senate can advance American leadership in AI and harness its potential and protect our society from its potential harms,” he wrote.
A classified, all-senators briefing with the Department of Defense and other parts of the intelligence community will take place on Tuesday “to learn how we’re using and investing in AI to protect our national security and learn what our adversaries are doing in AI,” according to Schumer’s letter.
The Senate is further examining AI in a Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday titled “Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property – Part II: Copyright.”
Also, “in the coming months the Senate will begin hosting top AI experts in a series of AI Insight Forums,” wrote Schumer in his letter.
The House will also dedicate time to AI and crypto in the coming weeks.
“The House Financial Services Committee is also expected to hold a markup of two crypto-related bills, one on stablecoins and one on broader crypto market structure,” according to Andrew Lokay, senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors. The markups are scheduled for July 19th.
Additionally, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the oversight of the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday.
The official language about the hearing states the committee “will examine mismanagement of the FTC and its disregard for ethics and congressional oversight under Chair Lina Khan.”
“Republican members are expected to attack [Khan’s] antitrust philosophy and regulatory agenda,” said Owen Tedford, senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors, and artificial intelligence is a large part of Khan’s regulatory agenda.
In May, Khan wrote an op-ed for the New York Times titled “We Must Regulate A.I. Here’s How.” The Bureau of Competition & Office of Technology at the FTC released a paper in June titled “Generative AI Raises Competition Concerns.”
The FTC could begin to regulate AI using algorithm disgorgement, a tactic the agency has used five times since 2019, reported Tedford. Algorithm disgorgement “requires companies to delete products built on data they shouldn’t have used in the first place.”
For example, the FTC ordered Amazon’s Ring
AMZN,
to delete algorithms it built using data from consumer’s private videos that were reviewed unlawfully.
The FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, said these algorithm disgorgement actions were “a message to [the tech industry].” This could be a sign that “the FTC may pursue regulation by enforcement as it works to rein in AI rather than beginning a lengthy rulemaking process,” according to Tedford.
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