House Democrats press Johnson to stay in session and address AI safeguards

Por Owen Dahlkamp — POLITICO – TOP Stories

Over 100 House Democrats are urging Speaker Mike Johnson to keep Congress in session until lawmakers pass “meaningful, bipartisan AI safeguards.”

In a In a letter, shared first with POLITICO and led by California Democrats Sam Liccardo, George Whitesides and Ted Lieu as well as Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), the lawmakers called on Republicans to work across the aisle to pass legislation to rein in risks associated with advanced artificial intelligence models. It comes as public fears mount in response to warnings from top AI executives and researchers about dangers stemming from the technology’s growing capabilities.

“Reasonable minds may disagree about precisely how Congress should regulate this rapidly evolving technology,” the letter reads. “We cannot disagree about the imperative for Congress to act.”

With the House set to recess at the end of this week until after the midterm elections, Johnson has shown little appetite to keep lawmakers in Washington to address AI.

He brushed off concerns Tuesday, comparing stark warnings that AI may pose a risk to humanity to what he sees as overblown warnings about the risks that climate change poses.

“What the president is saying is you’re not all going to be dead in 10 years,” Johnson said, referencing President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post where he said theories AI may cause human extinction a “HOAX.”

A spokesperson for Johnson referred POLITICO to his previous comments.

“We do not want to jump in — the reflex of legislative bodies is to cover things up with red tape and hyperregulation,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday. “If you do that, then you lose your edge and that is a national security concern for the American people,” he added, referring to China’s role in the race for the most advanced AI models.

He has called for a meeting with executives at the top AI labs and said Tuesday that he expects the meeting to happen late this week or early next week.

Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories