OpenAI CEO to testify before Senate next week

by Rebecca Klar - 05/10/23 11:20 AM ET

AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File
FILE – The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output from ChatGPT, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Boston. President Joe Biden’s administration wants stronger measures to test the safety of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT before they are publicly released, though it hasn’t decided if the government will have a role in doing the vetting. The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday, April 11, said it will spend the next 60 days fielding opinions on the possibility of AI audits, risk assessments and other measures that could ease consumer concerns about these new systems. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

The CEO of OpenAI, the company behind the popular generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT, will testify at a Senate hearing next week about rules for AI technology, the panel announced Wednesday.

Sam Altman will appear at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing Tuesday about how to establish safeguards and oversight of AI as the technology ramps up and Congress mulls regulation.

“Artificial intelligence urgently needs rules and safeguards to address its immense promise and pitfalls,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, in a statement.

“This hearing begins our Subcommittee’s work in overseeing and illuminating AI’s advanced algorithms and powerful technology,” he added.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), ranking member of the subcommittee, said the hearing marks a “critical first step towards understanding what Congress should do.”

“Artificial intelligence will be transformative in ways we can’t even imagine, with implications for Americans’ elections, jobs, and security,” Hawley said in a statement.

It will be the first time Altman testifies before Congress, though he’s met with lawmakers before.

His visit comes as Congress — and the Biden administration — weighs AI regulation and ways to enforce current laws to combat concerns about AI technology.

Altman will also meet with House Democrats and Republicans at a dinner at the Capitol on Monday night, NBC News reported.

Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and GOP Conference Vice Chairman Mike Johnson (R-La.) are hosting the event, according to the invitation obtained by NBC.

Lieu told the outlet the goal of the dinner is for Altman to “educate members” and said more than 50 lawmakers have RSVP’d.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter, met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) last month to discuss the future of AI as well.

Tuesday’s Judiciary subcommittee hearing will also feature testimony from Gary Marcus, professor emeritus at New York University, and Christina Montgomery, vice president and chief privacy and trust officer at IBM.

Updated at 12 p.m.