The top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), is calling on committee chairman Patrick Henry (R-N.C.) to schedule a hearing on the implications of big tech's foray into artificial intelligence
In a letter Thursday, Waters requested that McHenry "immediately schedule" a committee hearing on the implications of ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing’s AI chat, and other AI for the housing and financial services industry.
"The speed at which AI is being developed can potentially outpace Congress’ and regulators’ roles in fully assessing and understanding the harms of AI systems and the ability to put in place integral consumer and investor protections," Waters wrote. "The Committee must move quickly to consider the potentially disruptive effects of these powerful AI models."
Waters says if AI’s growth is not monitored closely, it could inflict large-scale societal and economic harm, including the potential for exposing consumers’ data, creating inaccurate financial assessments, and spreading misinformation, posing risks to financial stability.
Goldman Sachs, for example, has warned that if AI delivers on its promised capabilities, the job market could face significant disruption. The investment bank estimates roughly two-thirds of current jobs are exposed to some degree of AI automation and that AI could cost 300 million jobs globally. (Though, theoretically, that would be offset with the creation of new jobs.)
Waters spearheaded a task force last congress on financial technologies and AI, which raised ethical and legal concerns about bias and discrimination by algorithms, especially if automated programs don’t perform as intended. The task force found AI could embed inequities in financial services and the housing market by using data that reflect underlying bias or discrimination.
Waters's warning comes after Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, an AI research technology company backed by Microsoft (MSFT) that helped create ChatGPT, testified last month before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee that government intervention will be necessary to reign in the risks of AI systems.
"I would form a new agency that licenses any effort above a certain scale of capabilities, and can take that license away and ensure compliance with safety standards," Altman said. "No. 2, I would create a set of safety standards...[There should be] specific tests a model has to pass before it can be deployed in the world."
Altman also said that it will be important to include "independent audits" from "experts who can say that the model is or isn't in compliance with state and safety thresholds."
Top tech CEOs from tech companies working on AI technology — including Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google parent Alphabet (GOOG), which has developed the AI chatbot Bard, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and OpenAI’s Altman — all met with Vice President Kamala Harris and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo last month to discuss the dangers of AI and Washington’s role in it.
Much has been made about incorrect answers, fabricated information, and other concerning interactions with Microsoft’s ChatGPT, which caused the company to pull it back initially after its launch in February before putting it up again. A new report from the Wall Street Journal this week revealed that some of Microsoft’s executives felt ChatGPT was being launched too fast, largely because kinks were still being worked out. OpenAI, meanwhile, had suggested Microsoft move slower on integrating its AI technology with Bing.
Both parties in Congress have expressed concerns with AI, including Rep. McHenry, who is worried about privacy and other risks associated with the fast-rising technology.
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Jennifer Schonberger has been a financial journalist for over 14 years covering markets, the economy and investing. At Yahoo Finance she covers the Federal Reserve, cryptocurrencies, and the intersection of business and politics. You can follow her @Jenniferisms
