The Chamber is withdrawing from pressure to introduce large-scale regulations regarding artificial intelligence

The House of Representatives is unlikely to take up legislation this year to establish a large-scale framework for the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-LA, told Fox News Digital that artificial intelligence development is at a stage where he worries that overly burdensome regulations could leave the U.S. behind competitors like China.

“There is no consensus at this point,” Scalise said when asked about the likelihood of AI legislation. “Frankly, we shouldn’t be creating some new regulatory structure, spending billions of taxpayers’ money, to do what the private sector is already doing. You know, and artificial intelligence is a perfect example of how America is a world leader in innovation, we don’t “You don’t need to limit this growth by adding a whole bunch of new regulations to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.”

He signaled that a more targeted approach was possible, adding: “There are problems and gaps in the law. Let’s take a look at these. But there are already laws in place that address some of the problems you see there.”

Cyber ​​fraudsters use artificial intelligence to manipulate Google search results

These comments from the No. 2 House GOP leader who helps guide the majority’s legislative agenda come a month after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Task Force released a comprehensive report laying out a path to regulatory legislation in relevant committees.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

That report recommended spending at least $32 billion in taxpayer dollars annually on “non-defense” AI innovations.

Scalise said he was critical of the Senate’s approach.

“They are trying to introduce regulations that would actually hinder the development of this industry,” he said. “Why would we want to give land to a country like China?”

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

The House of Representatives’ bipartisan task force on artificial intelligence is working to produce a report with policy recommendations for the rapidly developing technology.

Republicans on that panel also raised concerns about the Senate’s artificial intelligence framework during a closed-door meeting with Scalise late last week, a source on the floor told Fox News Digital.

The source said it seemed “clear” at the meeting that GOP lawmakers would not support legislation establishing new agencies or licensing requirements for artificial intelligence and were concerned about any approach that “creates burdens for new developers.”

This puts the House and Senate in opposing positions on the issue, overshadowing the possibility of Congress taking action on artificial intelligence this year.

House Artificial Intelligence Task Force Chairman Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital that the meeting with Scalise went well.

“He has made it clear where he stands with regard to universal licensing requirements by creating new federal agencies and a new bureaucracy,” Obernolte said.

The California Republican noted that artificial intelligence is an “extremely bipartisan issue” and suggested that the House could still come up for a vote on narrow, targeted AI legislation.

ISRAEL INTRODUCES ‘MOST ADVANCED’ AIRCRAFT AIRCRAFT: ‘UNPRECEDENTED’

“We have a short list of what we think are easy, basic AI bills that address more pressing problems that we think we can solve this year. I will be discussing these bills with Mr. Scalise,” he said.

Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., another task force member, agreed with Scalise’s approach. Hill said it was “premature” to introduce an approach similar to the European Union, which has introduced a wide-ranging framework setting rigorous standards for AI companies and the use of the technology.

“I think we should look at it sector by sector and prioritize what we can do under existing law and existing oversight environments by area … and assess what kind of legislative effort we really need,” Hill said. “I don’t think we’re prepared to implement some large, overarching European-style AI regulatory regime.”

This Congress saw a flurry of AI legislation from both parties. The increased availability of sophisticated artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT and DeepAI has created a new and growing problem of “deepfake” content being passed off as real, particularly regarding the November election and consumer-targeted fraud.

However, artificial intelligence has also played a key role in advances in healthcare, defense technologies and other sectors.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Schumer’s office for comment on Scalise’s objection.

Original article source: ‘Lack of consensus’: The House backs off from pressure to introduce large-scale artificial intelligence regulation