PROVIDENCE — Top executives of major AI companies are suddenly warning of danger, and Americans are increasingly skeptical of the benefits of AI.
But if you’re looking to Congress to step up with solutions in the short-term, a former congressman who is an expert in emerging technologies said don’t hold your breath.
At a Rhode Map Live event on Thursday discussing the impact of AI on Rhode Island’s workforce, former US Representative James Langevin was candid when Boston Globe columnist Dan McGowan asked how he thought Congress would respond.
“AI has policymakers’ attention, and it has the public’s attention. I’d like to think we’d see some legislation from Congress, but it’s doubtful right now,” said Langevin, who is the Rhode Island College distinguished chair at the Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies. “I’m hoping public pressure will change that. The leaders of AI of major companies are all flashing the red warning signs that AI could be dangerous.”
People say it could be the end of civilization — how can it be your colleagues may not get it done? McGowan asked.
Langevin said simply: “I know Congress.”
The audience at the CIC in downtown Providence laughed, but Langevin was serious. Democrats and Republicans are typically divided on the need for regulation. Now, throw in an AI “arms race” between China and the United States, he said, and a president who declares there’s no need for regulation. (House Speaker Mike Johnson also said this week that the AI industry “can self-regulate.”)
“It’s putting us, I believe, at risk with that kind of philosophy and attitude, so it’ll be harder for Republicans in Congress, even if they wanted to regulate, to buck the president and pass a law,” Langevin said.
To another panelist, attorney and AI expert Monsurat Ottun, the fault was in the all-out competition to be first with this powerful technology.
“There has to be a willingness to embrace AI responsibly, and I find that’s significantly lacking,” said Ottun, who serves as a cybersecurity advisor for Massachusetts at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “And I think that’s the thing that’s going to get us in trouble. It’s not the existence of AI itself. It’s the lack of accountability around governing it properly.”
Claude Arnell Milhouse, the cofounder and CEO of yconic, a Providence company that supports AI startups, said that the regulations shouldn’t be handcuffs. “We are in an arms race, and we have to figure out a way,” Milhouse said. “An alternative to regulation might be control: For every dollar spent, a certain amount of money is to be spent on control and defense. Because, what are we going to do if China gets there first?”
For Eric J. Beane, the president and chief operating officer of RAISE US, a national, nonpartisan organization that partners with states, employers, training partners, and workers to help them transition to an AI economy, they are taking action to help the workforce now. “Shame on us if we see AI coming, and we see the potential for impact if we don’t do something,” Beane said.
RAISE US is partnered with four states now; Rhode Island is one of 30 states that has expressed interest. “I think the federal government will step in when there is a crisis,” he said.
Rhode Island College’s Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies has just debuted a new AI hub at ai.ri.gov that offers Rhode Islanders free resources and training in responsible AI.
The adviser is Timothy Henry, a professor and architect of Rhode Island’s first undergraduate major in Artificial Intelligence and two AI-related minors. He said that educators are struggling with the conundrum of how to teach students to use AI — and when. He wants his students to be employable, and that means understanding how to use AI, but he says it means being cautious about when it’s introduced.
“If you are an expert, AI can give you super powers to do whatever you need to do, but if you’re not an expert, using AI will prevent you from being an expert and you will never get those super powers,” Henry explained. “We want our students to become experts and get those super powers, but we also want them to learn how to use AI, so how do we rein in AI at the right times, so they develop the critical thinking and also learn through struggling through problems on their own.
“Because a lot of learning is that struggle in figuring out things for yourself,” he added. “And if you have a tool like AI to do it for you, you’ve lost that skill and it’s going to impact you as you get older and out into the workforce.”
There are risks with AI that can’t be ignored, and there needs to be regulation, Langevin said.
“But, I believe it’s going to do a lot of good things, and with the right tools, the workforce can be more productive,” he said.
Amanda Milkovits can be reached at amanda.milkovits@globe.com. Follow her @AmandaMilkovits.