U.S. Lawmakers Press AI Founders to Focus on Products and Safety

Bipartisan U.S. lawmakers and other government officials are urging artificial intelligence founders to prioritize safe product development, as executives’ public messaging draws concern in Washington.

AI leaders’ messages have shifted between describing the technology’s potential prosperity and warning of existential dangers, sometimes during the same public event. At the same time, industry leaders have not taken a leading role in persuading Americans about AI’s benefits and potential shared prosperity.

Lawmakers and regulators say the swings contribute to political instability amid an already strong public backlash against the industry. Separately, discussion of digital sentience and global catastrophe has turned an already complicated debate over AI regulation into a moral panic.

The officials’ request is for founders to spend less time talking and more time developing products while ensuring safety.