Mike Johnson, the spokesperson for the U.S. House of Representatives, said in his weekly press conference that the media is showing an excessive and irrational reaction to warnings regarding artificial intelligence (AI). These remarks were made as some members of the AI industry have called for regulations in this area.
Concerns of Lawmakers
In this conference, Johnson responded to reporters' questions about the need for Congress to take action regarding AI regulation. These questions arose after a summit on artificial intelligence hosted by Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon. Johnson, referencing comments from former President Donald Trump, stated that Trump should be the only person overseeing this area.
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Criticism and Reactions
Johnson said: "If Bernie Sanders is in charge of this, he will stop everything and we will be at risk." He also referred to the common belief that if the United States severely restricts AI, China and Xi Jinping will lead in this industry. Johnson continued: "We will not have any emotional and irrational reactions in this regard, and we must act with caution and intelligence to maintain our superiority."
Last week, some officials in Washington expressed concern after Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic, resigned and stated that "those developing AI seriously believe they may pose a threat to us by the end of this decade." These remarks prompted some Democrats and even conservative Republicans like Anna Paulina Luna from Florida to call for congressional hearings to examine the risks of AI.
Trump responded to these concerns, saying: "The only control AI needs is a strong and smart president, and the United States has such leadership!" He also emphasized that some concerns about AI are a "ruse."
Johnson further responded to the president's remarks, saying: "When the president says this is a ruse, he means we have experienced such a situation before. We are 49 days away from an election, and the media is under significant pressure."
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Source: independent.co.uk
