美国国家公共电台 NPR--Congress wants to regulate AI, but it has a lot of catching up to do

Congress wants to regulate AI, but it has a lot of catching¹ up to do

Transcript²

For the past several weeks, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has met with at least 100 experts in artificial intelligence to craft groundbreaking legislation to install safeguards.

The New York Democrat³ is in the earliest stages of talking to members of his own party and Republicans to gauge⁴ their interest in getting behind a new proposed AI law.

"Our goal is to maximize the good that can come of [artificial intelligence]," Schumer said. "And there can be tremendous good, but minimize the bad that can come of it. ... But to do it is more easier said than done."

It's all part of a congressional race to try to catch up legislatively⁶ to exploding advances in AI.

Monday night, a bipartisan group of House members will host a top industry figure for a joint⁸ dinner. On Tuesday, a Senate panel will hold a hearing to consider new oversight⁹ of the technology.

But while lawmakers look to craft AI rules, they face Congress' lackluster history of regulating emerging technologies.

Schumer admits he's facing some clear challenges.

"It's a very difficult issue, AI, because a) it's moving so quickly and b) because it's so vast and changing so quickly," Schumer said.

As Schumer works to build a bipartisan consensus¹⁰ behind his legislative⁵ framework, he must also navigate¹¹ a bitterly divided Congress.

Congress has struggled to regulate emerging technology

Congressional lawmakers missed critical windows to install guardrails for the internet and social media.

Now, it faces the equivalent of trying to put in brakes for a runaway¹² train.

"AI, or automated¹³ decision-making technologies, are advancing at breakneck speed," said law professor Ifeoma Ajunwa, who co-founded an AI research program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel¹⁵ Hill. "There is this AI race ... yet ... the regulations are not keeping pace."

Ajunwa says that there aren't enough experts in both computer science and law on Capitol Hill and that this makes AI lawmaking all the more challenging.

"There is a real need for such ... legal training for people who will then end up in Congress," she said.

The name of the technology alone can add a mystique and cause confusion for lawmakers, Ajunwa argues.

She and some industry experts say AI should instead be called "automated decision-making" to reflect the human decision-making — including values and biases¹⁶ — embedded¹⁷ in it.

Lawmakers play catch-up

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wants to play a role in the development of AI law, but he admits he has work to do.

"I've got to get educated," he said during a recent ride on a Senate subway train back to his office.

Hawley has loomed¹⁸ large in partisan⁷ fights over a variety of issues, but on this topic, he's intrigued¹⁹ by the Democratic leader's plans.

Hawley is the top Republican on a Senate Judiciary Committee subpanel that will examine AI oversight options in a hearing on Tuesday.

"For me right now, the power of AI to influence elections is a huge concern," Hawley said. "So I think we've got to figure out what is the threat level there, and then what can we reasonably do about it?"

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chairs the subpanel that will hold Tuesday's hearing. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the company behind the chatbot ChatGPT, will testify for the first time before a congressional panel.

But that marks just one of many planned AI hearings.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, plans to hold at least one hearing on AI during every work period.

Peters argues that Congress has already seen some progress passing legislation related to AI, including four bills that Peters wrote during the last Congress.

"We're going to continue to focus on that in Homeland Security," he said. "We had a hearing last month. We're going to have another one coming up later this month."

Across the Capitol, Rep. Ted¹⁴ Lieu, D-Calif., will co-lead a bipartisan dinner hosting OpenAI CEO Altman on Monday.

This year, Lieu introduced the first piece of federal legislation written by AI. Lieu said he used ChatGPT by asking the bot how he should write a resolution pushing for AI regulation.

"You have all sorts of harms in the future we don't know about, and so I think Congress should step up and look at ways to regulate," Lieu told reporters just before introducing the legislation.

The urgency is obvious

Law professor Ajunwa, who recently wrote a book on the influence of tech and AI on the modern workplace called The Quantified Worker, worries about AI's privacy issues. She says key questions are not being asked about the technology's impact on disadvantaged people, while the focus remains²⁰ on profits.

"The way the internet developed, unfortunately, is the same way that AI is developing," she said.

Ajunwa says that with the U.S. already lagging behind the technology — for example, the European Union is already years ahead in regulation efforts — the best bet for regulation may be quicker White House executive actions.

The Biden White House announced a series of initiatives ahead of meetings with industry officials this month.

Still, back at the majority leader's office just off the Senate chamber²¹, Schumer remains undeterred.

"Look, it's probably the most important issue facing our country, our families and humanity in the next 100 years," he said. "And how we deal with AI is going to determine the quality of life for this generation and future generations probably more than anything else."

1 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

5 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

6 legislatively   

adv.立法地

参考例句：

• Indeed, experience with the legislatively imposed hybrid procedures has not been encouraging. 的确，立法规定的混合型程序的经历并不令人感到鼓舞。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• The criminal pattern kidnapping and killing the kidnapped person is contained and aggravated crime legislatively. 从犯罪形态来看，“杀害被绑架人”的立法属于包容加重犯。 来自互联网

7 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

10 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

11 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

12 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

13 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

14 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

15 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

16 biases   

偏见( bias的名词复数 )； 偏爱； 特殊能力； 斜纹

参考例句：

• Stereotypes represent designer or researcher biases and assumptions, rather than factual data. 它代表设计师或者研究者的偏见和假设，而不是实际的数据。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• The net effect of biases on international comparisons is easily summarized. 偏差对国际比较的基本影响容易概括。

17 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

18 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

20 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

21 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。