#48: Artificial Intelligence Goes to Washington, the Biggest AI Safety Risks Today, and How AI Could Be Regulated

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
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