Tech visionary Elon Musk attended what looked like an amicable meeting on Wednesday with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to discuss the future of the United States involving artificial intelligence, the economy, and other issues on Capitol Hill.

“It was good. We talked about the future,” Musk told reporters as he was leaving the nearly hour-long meeting. “We talked about AI and the economy.”

Musk, a group of artificial intelligence experts, and industry executives called on tech leaders to pause pushing AI for six months in March while leaders get a handle on how to oversee it. This has become extremely relevant after the launch of ChatGPT which has seen billions in investments and is already transforming the landscape and the economy. It’s also evolving exponentially in a very worrying manner that borders on terrifying.

“Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable,” the letter that was issued by the Future of Life Institute asserted.

https://twitter.com/alx/status/1651346839059275776

Schumer has been pushing a “high-level framework that outlines a new regulatory regime for artificial intelligence” for months. He believes more government intervention will contain AI which it won’t. However, it will attempt to regulate it to death without stopping it from dangerously spreading into every facet of American life. Regulation is not the same as oversight and containment.

“The Age of AI is here, and here to stay,” Schumer proclaimed earlier in April, according to Fox Business. “Given the AI industry’s consequential and fast-moving impact on society, national security, and the global economy, I’ve worked with some of the leading AI practitioners and thought leaders to create a framework that outlines a new regulatory regime that would prevent potentially catastrophic damage to our country while simultaneously making sure the US advances and leads in this transformative technology.”

Elon just wrapped up a meeting with senate majority leader Chuck Schumer.

Elon said they talked about AI and the economy: "We talked about the future. We talked about AI and the economy."

Schumer confirmed they spoke about AI, which has been a concern of his for months. He… pic.twitter.com/V6WuS8RDyW

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 26, 2023

There is a growing movement in DC calling for AI regulations. Senate Intelligence Committee chair Mark Warner, who is a Democrat, sent major AI CEOs a letter on Wednesday asking them to take steps to address serious concerns over the issue.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, another Democrat, told reporters on Wednesday that the Biden administration is working “as aggressively as possible to figure out our approach” to AI.

“The challenge is you don’t want to stifle innovation in a brand new area with massive potential,” Raimondo remarked, according to Reuters. “The risks related to misinformation and deep fakes etcetera are massive.”

Schumer and Musk also discussed Tesla and its electric vehicles.

“Look, we had a very good meeting. We talked about Buffalo. Tesla has a large plant in Buffalo, and we talked about AI,” Schumer told reporters following the confab.

Met with @SenSchumer and many members of Congress about artificial intelligence regulation today.

That which affects safety of the public has, over time, become regulated to ensure that companies do not cut corners.

AI has great power to do good and evil. Better the former.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 27, 2023

Gigafactory 2 is a 1.2 million square foot facility located in Buffalo, NY. It began producing solar cells and modules in 2017, followed by electrical components for electric vehicle chargers in 2019.

Musk is developing artificial intelligence of his own but seems cognizant of its inherent dangers. He believes it could lead to “civilizational destruction.” His new AI company is called X.AI and it has already started setting up shop in Nevada.

“I’m going to start something which I call TruthGPT, or a maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe,” Musk told Fox News in April. “And I think this might be the best path to safety in the sense that an AI that cares about understanding the universe is unlikely to annihilate humans because we are an interesting part of the universe.”

Schumer commented that Wednesday’s meeting was the second time he’s met with Musk. The first time was about 10 years ago when he visited him with then Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) at SpaceX.

Reaction to the meeting was not positive:

Sometimes that's how you get your best information. Look the enemy think you're his friend

— Illinois girl Desi (@d_ewinger) April 27, 2023

https://twitter.com/RealHickory/status/1651402483728543745

But Schumer is so beneath Mr. Musk when it comes to intellect? How could it be productive?

— SharonKP#45 Phoenix for Another year. (@SharonP92453996) April 26, 2023

Poor thing. Having to sit in the same room with Chuckles.

— Donna Bradshaw (@DonnaBr45155460) April 26, 2023

Well, if Chuck Schumer can understand Elon Musk’s talk on AI and the economy, then there’s hope for all of us to understand our in-laws at Thanksgiving dinner.

— Carlos Gil (@carlosgil83) April 27, 2023

Ok, this scare the crap out of me! Anyone else?

— Robyn O’Donnell (@RobynDODonnell) April 27, 2023

Take a shower, Elon! Schumer is as swampy as they come.

— Paul Hookem (@PaulHook_em) April 26, 2023

https://twitter.com/FrostyGPW/status/1651367354431840256

Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.