Two United States senators, Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley, introduced bipartisan AI legislation on September 8, amidst growing congressional efforts to regulate this emerging technology.
Their proposed framework advocates for mandatory licensing for AI companies and explicitly states that technology liability protections won’t shield these firms from legal actions.
Senator Blumenthal, in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), hailed this bipartisan framework as a significant leap forward—a robust and comprehensive legislative plan to establish concrete and enforceable AI safeguards, aiming to guide the management of AI’s potential benefits and risks.
Senator Hawley stressed that these principles should serve as the foundational basis for Congress to take action on AI regulation, indicating a commitment to further hearings with industry leaders and experts to build support for legislation.
The framework’s core proposition involves the establishment of a licensing system overseen by an independent regulatory body, requiring AI model developers to register with this authority, which can conduct audits of licensing applicants.
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Furthermore, the framework suggests clarifying that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, providing legal protections to tech firms for third-party content, does not extend to AI applications.
It also advocates for corporate transparency, consumer and child protection, and national security safeguards.
Blumenthal and Hawley, who lead the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and Law, disclosed plans for an upcoming hearing featuring prominent figures like Brad Smith, Microsoft’s vice chairman and president, William Dally, NVIDIA’s chief scientist and senior vice president of research, and Woodrow Hartzog, a professor at Boston University School of Law.
This framework’s unveiling and the announcement of the accompanying hearing precede Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s AI forum, which will include leaders from major AI companies sharing insights into the technology’s potential advantages and risks.
Notably, Schumer had introduced his own AI framework in June, which outlined fundamental principles but lacked the detailed measures proposed by Senators Hawley and Blumenthal.
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