Father of ChatGPT Testifies Before Congress, Suggests Need for Licensed Development of AI Models

Despite building ChatGPT, the hottest artificial intelligence (AI) app of the moment, OpenAI chief Sam Altman doesn't think the AI boom started by ChatGPT should be left to "grow wild.

In his first appearance before a U.S. congressional hearing on Tuesday, May 16, Sam Altman, who serves as OpenAI's CEO, urged regulation of the AI sector. In his opening remarks at the hearing, held by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Altman noted:

"We believe that government regulatory intervention is critical to reducing the risks of increasingly powerful models."

Altman called on Congress to adopt safety standards for AI systems.

One way the U.S. government could regulate the AI industry, he argued, is to impose a licensing system for companies developing the most powerful AI systems. If a company were to develop and release AI models that exceeded the capability threshold, the government could combine licensing and testing requirements to regulate them.

He also mentioned one possible solution, the creation of an international commission of regulators, led by the United States.

"My biggest concern is that [the AI industry] will cause significant harm to the world," Altman said. He said the potential use of AI for voter manipulation and targeted disinformation are some of his "biggest areas of concern," especially since the U.S. "is facing an election next year and these (AI) models are getting better."

Altman spoke of the risks of AI, such as compromising the integrity of future elections, manipulating the opinions of individual citizens, limiting access to certain information and infringing on copyrights. He said.

"We understand that people are anxious about the way it [AI] is changing our lives. But we believe that we can, and must, work together to identify and manage the potential downsides so that we can all enjoy the great benefits."

AI may lead to some job losses, but it will create more new jobs

Christina Montgomery, IBM's vice president and chief privacy integrity officer, joined Altman at the hearing on Tuesday. Both agreed that AI could lead to some job losses, but that AI could also create new jobs.

Asked if he thought AI could hurt most human jobs, Altman said he was optimistic about the prospect of AI changing jobs in the future. "I think, on the other hand, there will be far more jobs."

According to Altman, "AI will have an impact on jobs. We're trying to get that pretty clear, and I think it's going to take the (AI) industry and the government working together, and it's going to take government action primarily in order to figure out how we want to mitigate that. As far as how great jobs will emerge in the future, I feel very optimistic."

Montgomery said, "The most important thing we can and should do now is to prepare today's and tomorrow's workforce to work with AI technology."

Montgomery warned against creating an era of "fast action, out of the box" as has long been the norm for Silicon Valley giants like Facebook. "The age of AI cannot be another era of 'move fast and break the rules,'" she said, but added, "We don't have to put the brakes on innovation, either."

Montgomery urged members of Congress to regulate the specific use of AI precisely, not the AI technology itself. She said AI chatbots, which can share information about recommended restaurants, or draft emails, have a different impact on society than the kind of system that supports making credit, housing or employment decisions.

Several members of Congress see the need to regulate AI Lack of consensus on how to respond to the public's application of AI

The hearing opened with a fake recording that disguised the voice of Senator Richard Blumenthal himself, which Blumenthal used to demonstrate the risks that AI technology can pose. The recorded speech was written by ChatGPT, and the audio was created using a real recording of him speaking on the Senate floor. The recording argues that AI cannot be allowed to develop in an unregulated environment.

Blumenthal says regulations and safeguards are urgently needed in the face of AI's enormous promise and pitfalls.

Blumenthal and Sen. Josh Hawley, another senator who attended the hearing, called the hearing the first step in understanding new AI tools, reflecting the continued lack of consensus among members of Congress on how to respond to the rapid adoption of these tools by consumers, according to the media.

Hawley questioned, "Will we strike a balance between technological innovation and ethical and moral responsibility?"

Some media outlets noted that the day before testifying before Congress, Altman had dinner with more than 60 members of the House of Representatives this past Monday. The gathering was split roughly 50-50 between Democratic and Republican lawmakers. One attendee said that Altman was demonstrating the many uses of ChatGPT, that those in the room were amused, and that most attendees generally acknowledged that there is a need to regulate AI.