Show-Me State Times

In yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), serving as ranking member, urged his colleagues in the upper chamber to prioritize legislation that would protect Americans from the harms artificial intelligence (AI) has proven to pose.

Senator Hawley questioned former board member of OpenAI Helen Toner, who voted last year to oust OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a high-profile boardroom battle, charging him with “outright lying.”

Probing Toner on whether OpenAI is doing enough to address safety concerns, Senator Hawley asked, “Is OpenAI doing enough, in terms of its safety procedures and protocols, to adequately vet its own products and to protect the public?”

Toner responded, saying, “I think it depends entirely on how rapidly their research progresses. If their most aggressive predictions of how quickly their system will get more advanced are correct, then I have serious concerns.”

Senator Hawley went on to press Toner on her views surrounding American AI competitiveness, arguing that Congress can both counter rising Chinese power while taking action to safeguard Americans from emerging AI threats.

“You make, I think, a very important and helpful point about AI development in China and why the competition with China, though real, should not be taken as an excuse for us to do nothing,” Senator Hawley said in response to Toner’s written testimony.