Chuck Schumer Doesn’t Want You to Ignore the AI Revolution–and He Has a Plan for Regulating It

Whether you’ve used ChatGPT or a regular old chatbot, have you ever really wondered where artificial intelligence sources its information? 

It’s just one of the questions that are top of mind for Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who recognizes that this notion of explainability, or where exactly A.I. sources its information, is “the greatest challenge we face on A.I.” 

“When you ask an A.I. system a question and it gives you an answer–perhaps an answer you weren’t expecting–you want to know where that answer came from,” Schumer said on
 Wednesday while delivering a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan think tank in Washington, D.C.

In Schumer’s view, a user should have the ability to ask how artificial intelligence chooses its answer over, say, another plausible option. 

It’s an issue that should be a top priority for Congress, said Schumer, who is also Senate majority leader, a role with considerable influence in determining what gets taken up in the Senate. 

While Schumer recognizes that even experts don’t fully understand why A.I. spits out the information that it does, it’s table stakes to get to the bottom of how A.I. algorithms function.

Without that understanding, “we may not be able to move forward,” the senator cautioned.

But he sees a solution–one that lies with the private sector. 

“Companies must take the lead on helping us solve this problem,” Schumer said, explaining that companies should be required to “develop a system where, in simple and understandable terms, users understand why the system produced a particular answer and where that answer came from.”

In his Wednesday speech, Schumer laid out his proposed framework to regulate A.I., one that calls for security, accountability, foundation protection, and explainability. The so-called SAFE Innovation Framework calls for an all-hands-on-deck approach so that the private sector can take on innovation while Congress oversees respective guardrails. 

It remains unknown how exactly this framework will play out, though the New York senator stressed that innovation must be at the forefront. Schumer shared that A.I. experts will join Congress later in the year to lend perspective on crafting legislation.

While praising A.I.’s potential, from bolstering our disease response efforts to tackling the hunger crisis, in the same breath Schumer cautioned about the “real dangers” presented by A.I. Chief among these concerns is job displacement, though many business leaders believe that A.I. may actually spur the creation of new jobs.

The privacy and security risks held by organizations might also factor in; Apple in May banned the use of ChatGPT within its organization for that very reason. And yet small businesses remain entranced with artificial intelligence. Forty-one percent of entrepreneurs are prioritizing A.I. to help them make business decisions, according to a May survey of 550 small businesses from American Express. 

Schumer’s speech arrives a day after the House proposed a bipartisan bill that would prop up a commission dedicated to creating regulations for A.I. 

“Many want to ignore A.I. because it’s so complex,” Schumer said during his speech. “But when it comes to A.I., we cannot be ostriches sticking our heads in the sand.”