Hi everyone,
Just a little AI Extra from me today — it really seems like the biggest AI news this week, once again, has AI policy and regulation taking center stage.
Which is great timing for me, because I’m taking Amtrak down to Washington DC tomorrow to co-host a networking event with VentureBeat and Anzu Partners called AI Loves DC, which is a follow-up to our fun AI Loves NY event in September. I’m really excited to meet everyone who’s attending, so see you there! And if you still want to RSVP, here is the link.
Yesterday, I spoke to three AI leaders who attended the second Senate AI Insight Forum — which was closed to the press again — they all said discussions were ‘encouraging,’ with Senators clearly taking seriously the many issues surrounding AI risks and potential AI regulation. They said that a total of around 20 Senators and 60 Senate staffers were in attendance for at least part of the event, including the four Senators hosting the event — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senator Mike Rounds, (R-SD), Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Senator Todd Young (R-IN).
I spoke to Evan Smith, co-founder and CEO of Altana AI, a platform for building trusted networks on a shared source of truth for the global supply chain, who said he spoke to the senators about “the positive impacts” across law enforcement, national security, climate, and economic resiliency. He told me that he was “encouraged by how constructive the senators were,” and that “it was very clear that it was a good faith, bipartisan, constructive engagement across civil society and industry where the orientation was how we create a lot of value from this new technology and also put up some guardrails.”
I also spoke to Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, who said the framing of the discussion around “transformational” and “sustainable” innovation focused on how to make these products safe. “That framing was the structure of the entire conversation, people engaged on both aspects of it, and it was a really robust conversation,” she said. “As a consumer advocate and a public interest advocate, I was very encouraged by that.”
I also messaged with Suresh Venkatasubramanian, former White House policy advisor and professor at Brown University, who agreed that the “vibe was positive,” but added that he wished there had been more time spent talking about specific regulatory frameworks. In addition, “the absence of a civil-rights focused forum continues to be a problem.”
I had hardly finished writing that piece when the news came from the Washington Post at Noon eastern time that the White House is set to unveil a long-anticipated, sweeping AI executive order next week. This would be on Monday, two days before government leaders, top Silicon Valley executives and civil society groups gather in Britain for an international summit focused on the potential risks that AI presents to society.
Apparently The White House on Tuesday night sent out invitations for a “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence” event Monday hosted by the president, according to a document viewed by The Washington Post. I didn’t get an invite…hint hint.
If you have anything to share with me on that, hit me up at sharon.goldman@venturebeat.com. :)
A busy AI autumn has arrived for AI policy and regulation