Technology — AI advances in face of concerns

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View Online Technology Technology The Big Story  AI plows ahead, despite calls for pause Thousands of technology experts signed an open letter six months ago urging a pause, but the technology has revved forward and lawmakers are still weighing guardrails.  © iStock The Future of Life Institute letter published in March earned more than 33,000 signatures, including from technology leaders like Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.    The goal was to "sound the alarm on the risks of uncontrolled AI development," Landon Klein, U.S. policy director for The Future of Life Institute, told The Hill.    "There's no denying the letter was successful in catalyzing a conversation about this," Klein said.    "It's clear now there's a global conversation about AI safety risks," he added.    The conversation has been moving forward in Washington, D.C. — but lawmakers have yet to coalesce around a legislative proposal.   Last week, senators met with leaders of civil society groups and CEOs of companies involved in artificial intelligence AI, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.   The forum followed Senate briefings and hearings on AI.   Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) unveiled a broad framework for AI legislation in June, but other more specific proposals are starting to emerge.   Earlier this month Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) released a proposal for AI regulation that would require AI companies to apply for licensing and clarify that a tech liability shield would not protect Ai companies from lawsuits.    Last week, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Hawley, Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) released a proposal aimed at banning deceptive AI-generated content in political ads.    A spokesperson for Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said Thursday the senator is also working on bipartisan legislation.   As Congress considers proposals, the Biden administration has also gained voluntary commitments from companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI to manage risks posed by AI.    And federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, have pledged to crack down on harmful AI practices.   At the same time, companies are continuing to expand in the realm of AI. Just this week Amazon unveiled a version of its voice assistant Alexa with more generative AI features, and Google expanded the capabilities of its AI tool Bard.  Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, we're Rebecca Klar and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: Former employees accuse TikTok of racial discrimination, bias, retaliation Two Black former workers of video-sharing platform TikTok have filed a federal class action complaint alleging they faced racial discrimination and ultimately were fired from the company when they took the matter to human resources. Nnete Matima and Joël Carter claim in their Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint that they were treated worse than their white peers while at TikTok, which has more than 150 million …  Full Story Google accused of negligence after man drives car off collapsed bridge, dies A North Carolina woman sued Google for negligence Tuesday after her husband drove off a collapsed bridge and died while following directions from Google Maps. Alicia Paxson's husband, Philip Paxson, drove off Snow Creek Bridge in Hickory, N.C., last September, as he returned home from their daughter's birthday party. The bridge had collapsed nine years earlier but was never repaired or barricaded, according to the lawsuit. …  Full Story Nearly 1 in 5 jobs 'highly exposed' to generative AI, report finds Nearly 1 in 5 jobs are "highly exposed" to — or require skills that can largely be performed by — generative artificial intelligence (AI), according to a new report from the American job search website Indeed. About 19.8 percent of jobs listed on Indeed were categorized as "highly exposed" to the rapidly expanding form of AI, like ChatGPT, that can generate original content, Indeed's AI at Work Report found.  However, the vast …  Full Story SpaceX countersues DOJ over hiring discrimination case SpaceX countersued the Department of Justice (DOJ) to try and stop a case from proceeding that alleged the company engaged in discriminatory hiring practices against refugees and those granted asylum in the U.S.  In a complaint filed Friday, SpaceX argued the DOJ lawsuit was unconstitutional because it would play out in administrative proceedings, rather than in a federal court, and, therefore, would deny the company of its …  Full Story The Refresh  News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: YouTube announces new AI tools for creators YouTube plans to launch several new artificial intelligence-powered tools for creators, including AI-generated content suggestions and AI dubbing capabilities, The Verge reports.  Microsoft to begin Copilot rollout next week Microsoft will begin the rollout of Copilton, its "everyday AI companion," as part of a Windows 11 update next week, Mashable reports. On Our Radar  Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration will hold a hearing titled "AI and the Future of our Elections" on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. ET. In Other News  Branch out with other reads on The Hill: Tech companies try to take AI image generators mainstream with better protections against misuse Artificial intelligence tools that can conjure whimsical artwork or realistic-looking images from written commands started wowing the public last year. But most people don’t actually use them at work or home. That could change as leading tech companies are competing to take text-to-image generators … Full Story Japan's troubled Toshiba to delist after takeover by Japanese consortium succeeds TOKYO (AP) — A 2 trillion yen ($14 billion) tender offer for troubled electronics and energy giant Toshiba by a Japanese consortium has been completed, clearing the way for it to be delisted, the company said Thursday. In the tender offer, announced last month and ended Wednesday, the number of shares … Full Story What Others are Reading  Two key stories on The Hill right now: Ramaswamy sparks furor with comments on race Vivek Ramaswamy has sparked a firestorm of criticism since launching his 2024 presidential campaign for comments that some have called racially charged. … Read more Biden makes major strategic shift at border The Biden administration rolled out a major strategic shift in border policy Wednesday, granting more than 400,000 Venezuelans work permits while bolstering … Read more What Others are Reading  Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: Fusion is almost here: This is no time for Congress to shortchange research funding Why the US, Japan and South Korea should take the quantum leap together    You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!  Check out The Hill's Technology page for the latest coverage. Like this newsletter? 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