Bill encourages artificial intelligence advancement

Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) are supporting a measure seeking to direct attention to maintaining the nation’s artificial intelligence (AI) competitiveness in support of national security and economic interests.

Ernst, Cortez Masto said the bill establishes the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, which would provide recommendations to the President and Congress concerning AI, machine learning, and associated technologies.

The Commission would be responsible for completing a yearly report considering competitiveness in AI in the realms of national security, economic security, public-private partnerships, and investment.

The Commission will be comprised of 15 members appointed by Congress, officials said, as well as executive branch leaders from the fields of defense, commerce, science, and intelligence.

“Our nation has made extraordinary advancements in technology in the 21st century, and we must ensure the United States is prepared to take advantage of the next major technological boon: artificial intelligence,” Ernst, chair of the Senate Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, said. “Through the establishment of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, we will better understand how to best utilize AI, from the front-lines to the factory lines. The Commission will also provide necessary insight into how near-peer competitors around the globe, like Russia and China, are also advancing in the AI field and what we must do to remain competitive in the realms of national and economic security.”