Spartz says Congress must listen to voices besides Big Tech on AI

By GARRETT BERGQUIST
WISH-TV | wishtv.com

Rep. Victoria Spartz said Monday in Indianapolis that Congress needs to act quickly on artificial intelligence and listen to more independent voices.

The Indiana Republican joins a growing list of lawmakers from both parties who say the federal government needs to pass comprehensive regulations for AI. Spartz said Big Tech firms like the startups OpenAI and Anthropic, known for the chatbots ChatGPT and Claude, and Google parent company Alphabet have not been honest with Americans about the potential dangers of the technology.

“I think Congress needs to have an honest conversation and push back on Big Tech on this issue,” Spartz said. “They haven’t been honest on this issue and, honestly, you know, it’s very hard to drag them to the table, but we have to drag them to the table.”

Last week, Jacob Coxon quit his job as an AI researcher at Anthropic after working for three years at that company and OpenAI. He posted on X, formerly Twitter, that neither company acts responsibly.

“The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade,” Coxon wrote. “If anything, many executives and senior researchers will couch their phrasing in the press to sound sensible – but I hear the same people express fear privately. No other human activity poses this level of danger.”

Concerns about the technology span party lines. House Democrats sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., demanding he cancel the House’s fall recess so members can work on AI legislation. Rep. André Carson, one of two Indiana Democrats in Congress, said he wants House leadership to vote on Democratic-backed AI legislation.

“The Republican majority must bring Democrats’ AI Civil Rights Act to the House floor,” Carson said. “It’s abundantly clear we need to better regulate AI to protect Americans – not make tech billionaires even richer.”

This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/congresswoman-spartz-demands-ai-regulation.