Utah Sen. John Curtis is calling on congressional leaders to schedule swift hearings with artificial intelligence executives to inform lawmakers on potential regulatory solutions, breaking with President Donald Trump, who has swatted down suggestions to do so.
In a joint statement with Democratic Delaware Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, the pair called on their colleagues to schedule public hearings with lawmakers, AI model developers, and other stakeholders to negotiate a framework regulating AI development. Both Curtis and Blunt Rochester sit on the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees AI safety standards.
“Americans deserve representation in Congress that is not only well-informed on cutting-edge AI development, but also has the wherewithal to cross the aisle and overcome political pressures to address the concerns these technologies pose,” the senators wrote. “At the end of the day, technology must be wholly designed to improve our lives, further opportunities for rising generations, and let the human spirit prevail.”
The statement comes amid a widespread debate on Capitol Hill about what, if any, role Congress should play in the speeding development of AI. While some lawmakers warn about the unknown capabilities of artificial intelligence, others maintain the U.S. should not fall behind foreign adversaries.
Curtis in his statement maintained the standpoint that the U.S. should preserve its “competitive edge in development,” but he argued that AI developers must ensure the technology only “serve human interests and remain fully under human control.”
In the meantime, he says, Congress must enact necessary safeguards.
“With no clear partisan divide on this issue, there is an opportunity to prove that Congress is functional, cooperative, and that it can deliver on what is becoming the hallmark issue of our time,” the pair said in their statement.
It’s not yet clear whether Congress members will schedule a hearing on AI before the midterm elections. The House is scheduled to adjourn on Wednesday evening and won’t return until after the November elections; the Senate is in session through the end of September.
However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was noncommittal on whether a hearing would be scheduled or if any legislation would be considered.
“Remains to be seen. I think there’s going to be a number of things done at the committee level,” Thune told reporters on Wednesday. “I think there are going to be a number of formats where folks are going to sit down and sort of hack out what our role ought to be and what the real threat looks like, how serious it is, and all that.”