"Father of ChatGPT“ to testify before U.S. Congress for the first time

May 11 Update: As artificial intelligence (AI) technology becomes more powerful and widespread, national regulators are exploring the best way to regulate the technology.

Sam Altman, founder and CEO of OpenAI and father of ChatGPT, will have his first hearing before the U.S. Congress.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law released a statement saying it will hear from Altman and IBM Chief Privacy Officer Christine Montgomery next Tuesday (May 16), local time.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, has made regulating AI a priority, and lawmakers at next week's hearing are expected to focus on what laws may be needed to protect the interests of ordinary people as AI becomes more widespread in various fields.

Richard Blumenthal, head of the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, said, "AI urgently needs rules and safeguards to address its enormous promise and pitfalls, and this hearing kicks off our subcommittee's work to oversee and clarify AI's advanced algorithms and powerful technologies."

ChatGPT, the chatbot, has created an AI boom since its release last November, with nearly every tech giant, including Microsoft, Google and Meta, participating in the space. the AI boom has also sparked a growing call for regulation.

U.S. Vice President Harris met with the CEOs of Microsoft, Google, OpenAI and startup Anthropic last week, where she said AI has the potential to dramatically increase threats to safety and security, violate civil rights and privacy, and erode public trust and confidence in democracy.

Harris said companies have a responsibility to comply with existing laws, as well as "ethical, moral and legal responsibilities to ensure the safety and security of their products.

Altman attended a White House meeting on AI last week to discuss how to ensure regulatory safeguards. Asked if OpenAI agreed with regulation, Altman said, "Surprisingly, we agree on the steps that need to be taken."