Senate meeting with top AI leaders will be behind closed doors, no press or public allowed

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At an event last month at IBM headquarters in New York yesterday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat of New York) said he would call a series AI “analytics forums” to “lay the groundwork for AI policy”. The first-ever forums, to be held in September and October, would replace congressional hearings focused on questions from senators, which Schumer said would not work for complex AI issues about finding a way forward. AI legislation and regulation. p>

“We want the best of them to sit at the table, talk to each other and answer questions, trying to reach consensus and solutions,” he said at the event, “while senators, our staff and others just listen. »

What he didn't say, however, is that the first AI Insight Forum, at least, to be held on September 13, will be a closed-door event, with no access to the press and public. . An announcement indicated that there would be a reading after its conclusion.

Schumer announced the forums, led by a bipartisan group of four senators, in June, along with his SAFE Innovation Framework for AI policy. He said there would be a “kick-off” forum where “most AI industry executives and some skeptics have agreed to come…they will spend a whole day debating amongst themselves where and when. the government should play”. a role. »

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VentureBeat reached out to Schumer and two of the other Senators co-hosts of the Insight Forums, as well as a dozen attendees of the September 13 meeting, to ask for their feedback on the in camera format.

"Senator Schumer's office is your best point of contact for these matters," said a representative for Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg will represent the company at the September 13 event.

Although Schumer's office has yet to respond, Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), co-host of the event, provided this statement: "The AI ​​Insight forums will be a comprehensive means for the Congress to explore key policy issues, opportunities and threats related to artificial intelligence as we develop potential legislative solutions. The style of the forums will allow us to explore, with the help of experts and parties stakeholders, a wide range of topics at an in-depth level while keeping the relevant committees and their members in the driver's seat when it comes to legislative outcomes.