Billionaire Elon Musk called for an artificial intelligence “referee” on Wednesday as tech tycoons and lawmakers met for a closed-door summit in Washington, D.C. to debate one of the best solution to regulate the burgeoning technology.
Organized by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Musk was joined by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, former Microsoft boss Bill Gates, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and greater than 60 US senators.
“It’s necessary for us to have a referee,” Musk told reporters, on the sidelines of the summit, adding that regulations were needed “to make sure that firms take actions which are protected and in the final interest of the general public.”
Musk referred to AI as a “double-edged sword” that would bring major advantages or have disastrous consequences for humanity — repeating a frequent warning that he and other tech bigwigs have given in recent months.
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg said Congress “should engage with AI to support innovation and safeguards.”
“That is an emerging technology, there are necessary equities to balance here, and the federal government is ultimately responsible for that,” Zuckerberg said, arguing that it’s “higher that the usual is ready by American firms that may work with our government to shape these models on necessary issues.”
The meeting occurred as a growing variety of AI critics, from lawmakers to those in Hollywood, calling for federal regulation to stave off any disastrous consequences, including an increase of deepfake content ahead of the 2024 election.
![Elon Musk](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000039397338.jpg?w=1024)
Key issues into account include AI’s impact on the US economy, including its potential to cause sweeping job losses in Hollywood and other sectors.
In his opening remarks, Schumer described the meeting as the beginning of “an unlimited and sophisticated and vital undertaking: constructing a foundation for bipartisan AI policy that Congress can pass.”
“Congress must play a task, because without Congress we’ll neither maximize AI’s advantages, nor minimize its risks,” Schumer added.
Lawmakers from each side of the aisle expressed support for some type of AI-related laws within the months and years ahead. Nonetheless, the precise composition of that laws — and a timeline for its passage — continues to be unclear.
![Bill Gates](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000039158997.jpg?w=1024)
“Are we able to exit and write laws? Absolutely not,” Republican Sen. Mike Rounds said. “We’re not there.”
The meeting’s closed-door format drew some harsh words from Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who questioned whether it could yield any actual progress on the AI issue.
“I don’t know why we’d invite all the most important monopolists on this planet to come back and provides Congress recommendations on how you can help them earn more money,” Hawley said.
In the course of the discussion, Musk, who launched his own artificial intelligence startup called xAI in July, expressed concern concerning the development of so-called “deeper AI” with human-like data processing capabilities.
![Mark Zuckerberg](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000039158851.jpg?w=1024)
Musk “raised concerns about data centers so powerful and massive that they could possibly be seen from space, with a level of intelligence that’s currently hard to understand,” Bloomberg reported, citing a source conversant in the matter.
Meanwhile, the Tesla CEO and X owner reportedly downplayed concerns about risks related to self-driving technology, which is under lively development at his electric automotive company and its competitors.
“That is a very important, urgent, and in some ways unprecedented moment,” added Altman, who spoke to reporters ahead of the meeting. The success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT kickstarted Congressional scrutiny over the technology.
![Elon Musk](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000039397494.jpg?w=1024)
Musk appeared in the identical room as his rival Zuckerberg for the primary time since plans for their highly anticipated “cage match” appeared to collapse last month. On the time, a frustrated Zuckerberg declared that Musk wasn’t “serious” about participating in a bout.
Earlier, Musk was mobbed by a crowd of reporters and other onlookers as he entered the summit.
![Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer organized the AI panel.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000039112474.jpg?w=1024)
In March, Musk was one in every of a whole bunch of AI experts who publicly called for a six-month pause in AI development – warning the potential risks of unrestrained advancements ranged from the spread of misinformation to “lack of control of our civilization.”
Elsewhere, Altman has called on Congress to impose guardrails on the AI industry, though he has downplayed concerns about job losses.
In May, the OpenAI boss co-signed a brief statement that placed the risks of AI on par with nuclear weapons and pandemics.
With Post wires