Dem senators ask Government Accountability Office for review of AI risks

Democratic Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.) and Gary Peters (Mich.) are requesting that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) review the potential harms of generative artificial intelligence (AI) as lawmakers mull possible regulations for the booming industry.

The senators asked the nonpartisan government agency to conduct a “detailed technology assessment” of the risks of generative AI tools and how to mitigate them in their letter sent Friday.

The Democrats noted previously identified risks of the technology, ranging from malicious actors creating AI-generated porn without consent, to AI tools promoting dangerous and harmful activities. 

“These current and potential future harms require urgent study. We ask GAO to assess this list of questions about harms from generative AI and potential strategies for mitigation,” they wrote. 

The letter from Markey and Peters requesting the GAO review follows a series of hearings in Congress, including a Senate Judiciary subcommittee one in May with the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind the popular ChatGPT AI chatbot. 

It also comes after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) laid out a framework for AI regulation earlier this week. Schumer’s SAFE Innovation Framework for AI calls for lawmakers to push forward with regulation that is guided by five key pillars: security, accountability, protecting foundations, explainability and innovation.

Schumer also said the Senate will convene a series of forums with experts in AI to guide lawmakers. The forums will work alongside ongoing efforts through the committees’ process with hearings, he said.

The administration has also been focusing on AI. President Biden met with tech leaders in San Francisco this week to discuss AI, following meetings at the White House with companies leading in AI, including Microsoft and Google, in May.