On September 13, local time, the U.S. Senate held an unusual closed-door briefing. The attendees were executives of the largest technology companies in the United States. It was nicknamed "the largest gathering of monopolies since the Gilded Age." More than 20 Silicon Valley CEOs and artificial intelligence ethicists sat on the stage and spoke.
Usually at hearings, congressmen sit on the stage and question technology entrepreneurs in the audience. However, in this closed-door meeting, more than 60 senators sat in the audience like primary school students, listening to more than 20 Silicon Valley CEOs and artificial intelligence ethicists on the stage discussing the "civilization risks" of generative artificial intelligence.
"It's important for us to have a referee," Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter), told reporters outside the conference. "(The conference) will probably go down in history because it's so important to the future of civilization."
Compared with the science fiction tone of Musk's rhetoric, some participants emphasized the risks of artificial intelligence in current reality. During the meeting, technology company executives generally recognized the government’s idea of regulating artificial intelligence, but there was little consensus on the content of regulation, and the political road to legislation remains difficult.
Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter), was interviewed by reporters after a closed-door meeting.
The meeting was part of the U.S. Senate’s first “Artificial Intelligence Insights Forum.” Each participant was given three minutes to speak on a topic of their choice, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who organized the briefing, and Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, then moderated a panel discussion. Although it was a closed-door meeting, many participants were interviewed by the media after the meeting, and details about the meeting were gradually revealed.
Schumer asked the panelists: "Does the government need to play a role in regulating artificial intelligence?" "Everyone raised their hands, even though they had different views." Schumer said, "So that gives us a message: We have to try to take action, although the process may be difficult." After the morning meeting, Schumer told reporters that legislation should be introduced in months, not years.
“I think people agree that this is something we need government leadership on,” said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the agency behind ChatGPT. “There’s some disagreement about how that happens, but there’s consensus that this is important and urgent.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman talked with reporters after arriving at the venue.
Musk and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt raised the existential risks posed by artificial intelligence, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates focused on solving global hunger, attendees said. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna expressed opposition to proposals for artificial intelligence development licenses.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks closed vs. open source artificial intelligence models. He called Meta's open source AI a way to ensure widespread use of the technology, but Meta was "not crazy about it." "We don't open source everything. We think closed models are good too, but we also think a more open approach can create more value in many cases." He said: "The next leading open source model ... is coming from Abu Dhabi."
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg left the meeting.
One speaker mentioned Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, also known as "Section 230." The clause grants “immunity” to internet companies and is intended to protect them from liability for content posted by third parties on their platforms. "One of the speakers said, 'Hold the users and creators of technology accountable,'" said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., "In other words, he specifically said, 'Don't do Section 230 for artificial intelligence.'"
Indiana Republican Senator Todd Young said that participants agreed that the development of artificial intelligence should follow American values.
One attendee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was a general consensus that the federal government needs to “help address what we call transformative innovation.” Schumer told reporters that this may require the creation of a $32 billion fund to help "maximize the benefits of artificial intelligence."
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang arrived at the event without a leather jacket.
There were many specific disagreements at the meeting. Some envision a sweeping new AI agency, while others believe existing entities such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are better suited to regulate. Musk later said he thought a regulatory agency was possible. Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai declined to give specifics but generally supported the idea of Washington's involvement.
Zuckerberg, Altman and Gates had "clear differences" throughout the morning meeting, such as over the risks posed by open source artificial intelligence. Musk feuded with Deb Raji, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, who appeared to downplay concerns about artificial intelligence-powered self-driving cars, according to a person in the room.
In addition to entrepreneurs and parliamentarians, experts invited to speak at the briefing also expressed concerns about artificial intelligence.
Forum attendees and tech leaders discussed building and expanding the benefits of artificial intelligence, but many Latinos still lack broadband internet access, said Janet Murguía, president of UnidosUS, a Hispanic civil rights group. This reality, she said, highlights “how gaps in existing infrastructure are blocking our entry into AI.”
Murguia also mentioned artificial intelligence-driven tools such as geolocation tracking and facial recognition, pointing to a recently released report that found federal law enforcement agencies using facial recognition lacked measures to protect people's privacy and civil rights.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a speech that $400 can fund a disinformation campaign. Later, the Center for Humane Technology's Tristan Harris talks about how it took $800 and a few hours of work to strip away the security controls of Llama2, a large language model developed by Meta, and make it share guidelines for making bioweapons. “It’s like we’re arguing about how cheap it would be to destroy the world,” Weingarten said.
Weingarten said teachers and students should be protected from inequality, identity theft, disinformation and other harms that artificial intelligence can fuel, and meaningful federal legislation should protect privacy and seek to address issues like job losses.
Some senators criticized the public for being excluded from the meeting, arguing that tech executives should testify publicly.
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said he would not attend "big cocktail parties at big tech companies." Hawley, along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has introduced legislation that would require tech companies to apply for licenses for high-risk artificial intelligence systems. "I don't know why we would invite all the biggest monopolies in the world to come and advise Congress on how to help them make more money and then close it to the public," he said.
Jen-Hsun Huang (first from left), Pichai (second from left) and Zuckerberg (third from left) were at the venue.
Sarah Myers West, managing director of the nonprofit AINow Institute, who did not attend the meeting, estimated that those in the room had a combined net worth of $550 billion.
Some members also expressed doubts about the effectiveness of this form of discussion. "Having Big Tech sit in a closed-door meeting to talk to senators and not answer any of the tough questions is a terrible precedent for trying to enact any kind of legislation," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Musk and Zuckerberg sit far apart, near opposite ends of a long table.
Some are focusing elsewhere. One photo shows Musk and Zuckerberg sitting far apart, near opposite ends of a long table. Musk and Zuckerberg have had a tense relationship recently, with Twitter and Meta's new social media product Threads in competition, and both men have expressed plans to organize a physical fight in a cage.