Financial Services Association, May 15 (Editor Shi Zhengcheng) After nearly a year of preparation, the Senate Bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Task Force (“AI Task Force”) led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer finally released a 30-page report on Wednesday, kicking off America's “AI legislation.”

(Source: US Senate)

Since the US House of Representatives also set up a bipartisan AI task force in February of this year, compounding the major threat of AI to the election year, the relevant legislation is expected to be the highlight of the second half of the year.

Allocate at least $32 billion a year

In this US AI policy roadmap, the working group put forward a large number of policy proposals, mainly focusing on using opportunities (throwing money) to encourage innovation and quickly address the risks posed by technology.

As a rare specific figure in the overall report, the AI Task Force encourages the US government and Senate Appropriations Committee to reach the investment level proposed by the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Commission (NSCAI) as soon as possible through emergency funding and other means: invest at least 32 billion US dollars in the non-defense sector every year to promote AI research and development across government departments, support basic scientific research, and support the application of AI in a wide range of fields such as advanced manufacturing, smart cities, synthetic chemistry & biology.

In an interview with the media on Tuesday, Schumer revealed that the senators are still considering how much additional funding should be given to the field of defense AI, but “this will be a very huge figure.”

The report also recommended developing plans to train the private sector workforce so that they can successfully participate in the AI-driven economy. At the same time, it is recommended that relevant committees consider improving the immigration system for highly skilled STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workers.

Considering that this is an election year, and congressional Republicans have shown strong will to cut spending, the extra money is bound to trigger a vicious war.

AI legislation “matures one, promotes one”

Seems to have taken into account the chaos of mutual restraint on Capitol Hill. Although the AI Task Force has put forward a series of regulatory proposals, it has also clearly stated that it does not expect to introduce a package of laws targeting AI like the European Union.

Schumer said that unlike some other governments, Congress should not pursue a single comprehensive artificial intelligence bill, but should adopt a step-by-step approach to take the lead in pushing for legislation on some of the most pressing issues. “We are not going to wait for AI legislation covering all aspects of society, and if some fields are ready sooner than others, they should move forward,” he said.

He also revealed that the AI task force is also cooperating with the Senate Rules Committee. The latter will review three AI regulations relating to the election field on Wednesday, calling for banning the use of deceptive artificial intelligence content in elections and formulating rules for the use of AI in political advertisements.

The AI Working Group also stated in the report that existing laws need to be applied consistently and effectively to AI systems and their developers, so the opacity of some Al systems may be unacceptable. The Working Group encourages committees to identify legal gaps within their jurisdiction and, where necessary, push forward legislation to fill gaps in the management of AI systems. The working group stated that it is necessary to ensure that regulators can directly obtain information relevant to the implementation of existing laws, and if necessary, put forward appropriate and specific requirements for high-risk use of Al, such as transparency, testing and evaluation criteria, etc.

The AI Working Group also recommended that relevant committees conduct an analysis of regulatory gaps in the financial sector to encourage investigation of the opportunities and risks of using AI systems in the housing sector. The report also mentioned that the Working Group is aware of the concerns of professional content creators and publishers about Al, particularly its impact on local news platforms.

The working group also recommended that relevant committees advance legislation in the healthcare sector to support further deployment of AI while providing patients with appropriate protection measures; the working group also supports the enactment of a strong federal data privacy law to address issues related to data minimization, data security, consumer data rights, authorization and disclosure, and data brokers.

Finally, the working group also recommended that a framework be developed to determine when or whether to implement export controls on powerful AI systems, or whether an approach similar to how the Department of Defense processes restricted data is needed.

Regarding the US AI legislation, which is likely to become “fragmented,” Schumer said that he is confident that legislation on some AI laws will be completed before the end of the year, but no matter who wins this year's US election, lawmakers' work on AI will continue until the next Congress.