Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized a series of upcoming meetings with AI industry leaders in a conversation with NBC on September 12.
There, Warren commented on the closed nature of the proceedings, stating:
“These tech billionaires want to lobby Congress behind closed doors, no questions asked. That’s just wrong… Her [want to] form the regulations in this way [they] are the ones who continue to dominate and make money. They shouldn’t have a forum to do that, especially a forum behind closed doors.”
The summit will include Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
As Warren suggests, the forum will be limited in several ways. It will not be open to the press or public, and senators attending events will only be able to submit written questions to the numerous high-profile technology leaders who will participate.
Warren’s complaints are aimed at the summit’s main organizer, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is a member of her own Democratic party.
Her objections mark a rare show of bipartisanship, as she is not the only senator to object to the plan. A Republican senator, John Thune, described the top model as inefficient. Another Republican senator, Josh Hawley, called the closed nature of the proceedings “ridiculous” and complained about the opportunity to attend tech leaders who influence lawmakers for their own financial gain.
Schumer, for his part, has defended the upcoming summit, saying it will include a wide variety of participants — not just top technology executives. His statements suggest the summit is intended to help produce safe innovation through the normal legislative process.
Warren is tough on technology and crypto
Warren has further pushed for heavy restrictions on the technology sector. Her 2020 presidential platform included a “Break Up Big Tech” plan to improve competition. In July 2023, she asked for a new federal agency to regulate companies in the AI sector.
She is also known for her strict stances on cryptocurrency. Warren has criticized crypto’s role in crime, drug trafficking, sanctions evasion and undertaxation, as well as its energy consumption and fraud impact on the public. She has also campaigned for the creation of an “anti-crypto army” and has developed restrictive legislation.
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