AI forum on elections to be held in Senate next week, Schumer says  

The Senate will hold a forum with experts about the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on elections next week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday.  

The forum will be the fifth in a series of AI Insight Forums Schumer convened that bring in stakeholders from tech companies, civil society groups and other experts to discuss the risks and benefits of AI with senators in closed-door meetings.  

The election-focused forum will be one of a “bunch more” the Senate will hold, Schumer said.  

“This is such a huge topic that encompasses so much that we need a whole bunch of these forums, but at the same time, our committees are beginning to learn from these forums and start writing legislation in a bipartisan way,” he said.  

Schumer’s comments came after a Wednesday morning forum about the impacts of AI on the workforce. In the afternoon Wednesday, the Senate is holding another forum session about AI in “high impact” areas, such as health care and finance.  

Next week’s election forum falls just one year before the 2024 presidential election.  

Concerns about the impact of generative AI, which can create realistic but false depictions of candidates’ appearance or voice, have emerged since the technology has ramped up over the past year.

Candidates in the 2024 race have already used generative AI in election content.  

The Federal Election Commission in August voted to consider clarifying a rule that would address the use of AI in campaigns.  

In September a bipartisan group of senators — Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) — introduced a bill that aims to ban the use of deceptive AI in elections.