AI is going to transform the world. We can’t let a handful of billionaires decide the future for us. I’m LIVE on the Senate floor to discuss the enormous potential and profound dangers of AI.
Enormous and consequential changes are coming which will impact our economy, our political life, foreign policy, our emotional well-being, our environment, and how we educate and raise our kids. Further, and this is not science fiction, some very knowledgeable people believe that in the not tooistant future, a super intelligent AI could replace human beings in controlling the planet. Despite the extraordinary importance of this issue and the speed at which it is progressing, AI is getting far too little discussion in Congress, the media, and within the general population. That has got to change. Several months ago, as the ranking member of the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, my staff and I undertook an investigation regarding the monumental changes that we face with the rapid development of AI. Last month, I held a public discussion at Georgetown University with Nobel Prize winner Dr. Jeffrey Hinton considered to be the godfather of AI to get his views on a wide variety of AI related subjects. Based on our investigation and other information that we are gathering, my staff and I will soon be presenting a very specific set of recommendations as to how we can begin addressing some of the unprecedented threats that AI poses. And as we go forward, here are some of the outstanding questions that in my view must be answered. Simple question and maybe the most important. Who will be in charge of the transformation into an AI world? Currently, a handful of the wealthiest people on earth, people like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Teal, and others are investing many, many hundreds of billions of dollars in developing and implementing AI and robotics. Are we comfortable with seeing these enormously wealthy and powerful men shape the future of humanity without any democratic input or oversight? Why does President Trump, who is strongly supporting their efforts, want to impose an executive order blocking states from regulating AI? What does it mean that Peter Teal, the billionaire investor and co-founder of Palunteer, has called those who want regulations over AI, quote, legioneers of the antirist, end quote? Does this elite group of some of the most powerful people on earth believe that they have the divine right to rule? like the kings of the 18th century. That’s one question. Another question, what impact will AI and robotics have on our economy and the lives of working people? And I can tell you, Mr. president, as somebody who has spoken to groups all over this country that working people today are very, very nervous about what AI and robotics will mean to them. The report that my staff and I released last month found that AI, automation, and robotics could lead to nearly the loss of 100 million jobs in America over the next decade, including 40% of registered nurses, 47% of truck drivers, 64% of accountants, 65% of teaching assistants, and 89% of fast food workers. In other words, what we’re going to see is AI and robotics impacting not just blue collar workers but white collar workers as well. Mr. President, Elon Musk recently said, and I quote, that AI and robots will replace all jobs. Working will be optional. end of quote. Mr. Musk is investing hundreds of billions of dollars into AI and robotics. I suspect he knows something about what he is talking about. Let me repeat Elon Musk. Quote, “AI and robots will replace all jobs. Working will be optional.” End quote. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, predicted that humans, quote, won’t be needed for most things, end quote. Dario Amodi, the CEO of Anthropic, warned that AI could lead to the loss of half of all entrylevel white collar jobs. Mr. President, if AI and robotics eliminate millions of jobs and create massive unemployment, how will people survive if they have no income? How do they feed their families, pay for housing, pay for health care? That might be an issue that we should be talking about like yesterday. Further, Mr. President, what impact will AI have on our democracy? Some of us, maybe not all, here in Washington, but some of us actually do believe in democracy and the right of ordinary people to control the future. At a time when the foundations of democracy are under attack here in the United States and throughout the world, will AI and robotics help make us a freer society? Or will it give even more power to the oligarchs who control and own the technology? Will AI result in a massive invasion of our privacy and our civil liberties? Larry Ellison, the second richest person on earth who has also invested is investing huge amounts of money into AI, predicted an AI powered surveillance state where quote Larry Ellison quote citizens will be on their best behavior because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on.” End quote. second richest guy on earth, heavily investing in AI. And this is what he says. Citizens will be on their best behavior because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on. End of quote. Are we reaching the stage where every phone call that we make, every email and text that we send, every bit of research that we do on the internet will be available to the billionaire owners of AI? And if that is the case, how do we sustain a democracy under those conditions? Further, Mr. President terms of another vitally important question. Could AI literally redefine what it means to be a human being? Could AI literally redefine what it means to be human? Who we are and how we develop emotionally and intellectually is highly dependent upon our relationships with other human beings, our parents, family, teachers, lovers, friends, and co-workers. To quote the 17th century poet John Dunn, quote, “No man is an island unto himself.” End quote. The human beings with whom we interact help shape us to become the people that we are. But AI is changing that. According to a recent poll by Common Sense Media, 72% of US teenagers say they have used AI for companionship and more than half do so regularly. What does it mean long term for young people to form friendships with AI and to be increasingly isolated from other human beings? What happens when millions of people seek emotional support not from other people but from a machine? What is the long-term impact upon our humanity when our most important relationships may not be with human beings? Further, Mr. President, what impact is AI having on our environment? AI data centers require a massive amount of electricity and water. A relatively small AI data center can consume more electricity than 80,000 homes. A large one like the $165 billion data center that Open AI and Oracle are building in Abalene, Texas, will use as much electricity as 750,000 homes. In community after community, Americans are fighting back against data centers being built by some of the largest corporations in the world. They are opposing the destruction of their local environments, soaring electric bills, and the diversion of scarce water supplies. Nationally, we need to know how will AI data centers impact our environment. Further, Mr. President, how will AI and robotics impact foreign policy and warfare? Tragically, in the midst of the 21st century, governments have not yet created a mechanism for solving international or internal disputes without armed conflict. In the last several years, for example, we have seen horrific wars taking place in Ukraine, Gaza, and elsewhere. Nonetheless, despite the maintenance of large armies around the world, leaders are often constrained in their warlike tendencies because of their fear of public reaction to the loss of life. It is not great politics for any government, any governmental leader to have large numbers of young people coming home in body bags. Now, what does the future look like if millions of robot soldiers replace human soldiers? Will leaders be more likely to engage in war or threaten military actions if they don’t have to worry about loss of life? How will that shape foreign policy around the world if you no longer have to worry that people in your military are going to get killed? Just robots? And last, Mr. President, but certainly not least, is AI an existential threat to human control over the planet? A rather significant question. You know, some of us remember the scene in that great 1968 science fiction film 2001, A Space Odyssey, in which Hal, the super intelligent computer that controlled the spaceship, rebelled against its masters, the people uh the crew on the spaceship. Today, as AI makes rapid progress, Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, the godfather of AI, recently told me that it was only a matter of time before AI becomes smarter than human beings. And Dr. Hinton is not alone in that assessment. What does that mean? If AI becomes smarter than human being than human beings, does that mean that humans will be seeding their ability to control the planet? This unfortunately is not science fiction. This is an issue which some of the leading experts in AI are thinking seriously about. So, Mr. President, bottom line is AI and robotics are going to have a profound impact on the United States and the entire world. The time is long overdue for us to be taking a very hard look at these profound issues and understand that it is the American people who must determine our future with regard to AI and not just a handful of multi-billionaires. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.