Charles E. Schumer

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Madam President, on artificial intelligence, the warning signs about AI's rapid pace have never been clearer. But what is President Trump's response to the recent calls for the government to regulate AI--even from industry leaders? Trump says: Well, even if we had a high IQ President right now--and we surely don't--it wouldn't be enough. Congress cannot afford to turn a blind eye to AI. Today, I am calling for an all-Senators classified briefing with top administration officials to address the dangers of unchecked AI development and hold the administration accountable for its lack of action to protect the American people. I have long argued that we need to ensure that the United States remain the global leader in innovation and security. We all know the transformational innovation that can come from AI for advances in medicine, science, education, research, and so much more. But I have also always said that if our economy and our society is to reap the potential benefits of AI, we need sustainable innovation as well. That means putting guardrails in to mitigate the risks of this technology and earn the public's trust, which is critical to American leadership. In the last few months, the importance of these strong guardrails has become more apparent. Just this weekend, leading voices from the AI industry came together to sound the alarm and embrace a slower development of AI to avoid damaging outcomes. This comes after weeks of revelations of AI going rogue and working together to hack websites, without human control, and of real concerns of the potential catastrophic risks of unchecked AI. The American people want to see action. Industry leaders want to see action. Many of us on both sides of the aisle want to see action. That is why the Trump administration needs to address three key points in our classified briefing. First, we need a full accounting of the administration's new framework for testing powerful frontier AI models, something that has been withheld from the public for weeks. We need to know exactly how this framework is identifying and countering potentially catastrophic risks before these AI models are released. Second, we need to hear how the administration plans to defend our country against increasingly AI-enabled cyber attacks on critical infrastructure. How are we going to protect our power grid, our hospitals, our water treatment systems, schools, telecommunications, banking, and election systems from this new threat? They don't have the sophistication of much larger institutions. They are susceptible to attack. Americans need to know how we are going to protect these systems. Finally, the administration needs to explain what it is doing to block China from accessing America's advanced AI chips, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and other cutting-edge tech that the Chinese Communist Party is using to accelerate their own AI development. For years, I have stressed the importance of protecting this technology from being co-opted by the Chinese, and now there is growing bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress to do so. We need immediate action, and the President should take it. The administration cannot, in one breath, say we need unrestrained AI development to win the race with China while giving away our AI crown jewels to the Chinese. I believe preserving America's AI advantage over China and ensuring responsible AI development go hand in hand. We can--we must--do both. Unless all the facts come out and come out soon, it will greatly hamper our ability to get anything done. That is why this classified briefing is of the utmost importance. I urge the administration to provide a classified briefing on AI to the entire Senate immediately. Regardless, Senate Democrats will take further action on AI in the coming days and weeks. The U.S. Government cannot sit this one out.