House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie said Wednesday that he agrees serious concerns exist about the growing power of artificial intelligence — but warned against adopting the kinds of strict regulations that he argues have depressed tech advances in Europe.
“If you want to say, ‘We’re just gonna turn this over to a handful of elite educated people in a room … well, that’s how Europe’s run,” the Kentucky Republican said during the POLITICO Decoded Summit in Washington. He added that such a system would give just a few leading AI developers disproportionate regulatory power and limit other companies’ ability to compete, “and I don’t think that’s a good path to have.”
He added that whatever guardrails Washington adopts must not limit the industry in a manner that could hinder the United States’ standing in the global AI race with China.
“We absolutely can’t surrender,” Guthrie said. “And I think that’s what it would be if we stopped AI development.”