Senators Not Keen On Banning AI From Surpassing Humans Despite Alarm Bells

Senators wouldn’t commit Thursday to supporting possible legislation that would ban artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that could someday surpass human intelligence and act independently.

Tech engineers and prominent AI researchers resigned from major labs and warned that AI development must be slowed to prevent the technology from killing humanity. Senators wouldn’t commit to banning AI superintelligence outright when asked by the Daily Caller News Foundation despite the warnings from researchers and prominent Big Tech CEOs.

Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said he would not support a ban if it came to the floor despite introducing an AI “kill switch” bill Wednesday.

“No, I’m not going to support that right now,” Kennedy told the DCNF. “I’ll support a light touch system of rules that we all agree to, and hopefully China does too, and that looks like somebody designed them on purpose. I don’t support what Senator Sanders wants to do. What Bernie wants to do is basically put AI on hold until the politicians can figure out a way to get control of it. I don’t agree with that approach.”

The idea for the hypothetical legislation was similar to independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ and Democratic Texas Rep. Greg Casar’s bill that would ban AI superintelligence that could “surpass human intelligence or have the capacity to overthrow human governments.” The Democrats’ bill would impose a pause on advanced AI development until a cabinet-level federal agency was established to “safeguard the public from the dangers” of AI.

Sanders’ office did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett told the DCNF and others that many lawmakers did not understand AI and needed to discuss the matter with AI experts before passing any legislation.

Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott told the DCNF that such a ban could never pass because the chamber was incapable of getting anything done. He stated that AI developers had a “responsibility” to ensure that children and families were protected.

“My expectation is that the builders of the AI have a responsibility to protect our kids and protect our families,” Scott told the DCNF. “We can’t pass a bill up here. We can’t pass election security. We can’t pass a budget. You think we’re going to pass some bill that’s going to control AI? That’s a joke.”