Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah called on Tuesday for Congress to set guardrails on artificial intelligence.
“The only thing that’s holding things back is not money, it’s the guardrails. When we don’t put guardrails out, everybody’s scared.” Curtis said at the POLITICO Playbook: The First 100 Days event in Washington. “My guess is if we did our job, put the guardrails out there, free market would go crazy.”
His call comes as AI developers like OpenAI have pushed for more incentives to speed up the construction of data centers and energy infrastructure.
Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) agreed, saying “if there is a priority in the first 100 days, it is what do those guardrails look like.”
Despite bipartisan efforts in both chambers last session, Congress failed to pass any major AI bills. Bera added that he’s determined to avoid the regulatory inaction of the social media era.
Speaking alongside the lawmakers, OpenAI’s vice president of global affairs Chris Lehane paid short shrift to regulation, and emphasized the race against China to develop AI instead. The company has beefed up its D.C. team and this week published an economic blueprint for infrastructure development.
“We have to play to win,” Lehane. “This is a zero-sum game.”
