00:00That enormous and consequential changes are coming, which will impact our economy, our
00:08political life, foreign policy, our emotional well-being, our environment, and how we educate
00:17and raise our kids.
00:19Further, and this is not science fiction, some very knowledgeable people believe that
00:27in the not-too-distant future, a super-intelligent AI could replace human beings in controlling
00:37the planet.
00:39Despite the extraordinary importance of this issue and the speed at which it is progressing,
00:45AI is getting far too little discussion in Congress, the media, and within the general
00:52population.
00:54That has got to change.
00:56Several months ago, as the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education,
01:01Labor, and Pensions, my staff and I undertook an investigation regarding the monumental
01:08changes that we face with the rapid development of AI.
01:13Last month, I held a public discussion at Georgetown University with Nobel Prize winner Dr. Jeffrey
01:21Hinton considered to be the godfather of AI to get his views on a wide variety of AI-related
01:30subjects.
01:32Based on our investigation and other information that we are gathering, my staff and I will soon
01:40be presenting a very specific set of recommendations as to how we can begin addressing some of the
01:49unprecedented threats that AI poses.
01:55And as we go forward, here are some of the outstanding questions that, in my view, must be answered.
02:05A simple question, and maybe the most important.
02:08Who will be in charge of the transformation into an AI world?
02:16Currently, a handful of the wealthiest people on earth, people like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates,
02:23Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, and others, are investing many, many hundreds of billions of dollars in
02:33developing and implementing AI and robotics.
02:39Are we comfortable with seeing these enormously wealthy and powerful men shape the future of
02:46humanity without any democratic input or oversight?
02:53Why does President Trump, who is strongly supporting their efforts, want to impose an executive order
03:02blocking states from regulating AI?
03:06What does it mean that Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor and co-founder of Palantir, has called
03:13those who want regulations over AI, quote, legionnaires of the antichrist, end quote?
03:23Does this elite group of some of the most powerful people on earth believe that they have the divine
03:32right to rule like the kings of the 18th century?
03:38That's one question.
03:39Another question.
03:42What impact will AI and robotics have on our economy and the lives of working people?
03:48And I can tell you, Mr. President, as somebody who has spoken to groups all over this country,
03:55that working people today are very, very nervous about what AI and robotics will mean to them.
04:04The report that my staff and I released last month found that AI, automation, and robotics could
04:13lead to nearly the loss of 100 million jobs in America over the next decade, including 40% of registered nurses,
04:2647% of truck drivers, 64% of accountants, 65% of teaching assistants, and 89% of fast food workers.
04:38In other words, what we're going to see is AI and robotics impacting not just blue-collar workers, but white-collar workers as well.
04:48Mr. President, Elon Musk recently said, and I quote, that AI and robots will replace all jobs, working will be optional, end of quote.
05:03Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, predicted that humans, quote, won't be needed for most things, end of quote.
05:33Dario Amodai, the CEO of Anthropic, warned that AI could lead to the loss of half of all entry-level white-collar jobs.
05:45Mr. President, if AI and robotics eliminate millions of jobs and create massive unemployment,
05:53how will people survive if they have no income, how do they feed their families, pay for housing, pay for health care?
06:05That might be an issue that we should be talking about like yesterday.
06:11Further, Mr. President, what impact will AI have on our democracy?
06:19Some of us, maybe not all, here in Washington, but some of us actually do believe in democracy
06:25and the right of ordinary people to control the future.
06:30At a time when the foundations of democracy are under attack here in the United States and throughout the world,
06:38will AI and robotics help make us a freer society?
06:43Or will it give even more power to the oligarchs who control and own the technology?
06:52Will AI result in a massive invasion of our privacy and our civil liberties?
07:00Larry Ellison, the second richest person on earth who is also invested, is investing huge amounts of money into AI,
07:11predicted an AI-powered surveillance state where, quote, Larry Ellison, quote,
07:19citizens will be on their best behavior because we're constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on, end quote.
07:30Are we reaching the stage where every phone call that we make, every email and text that we send,
07:56every bit of research that we do on the Internet, will be available to the billionaire owners of AI?
08:05And if that is the case, how do we sustain a democracy under those conditions?
08:14Further, Mr. President, in terms of another vitally important question,
08:21could AI literally redefine what it means to be a human being?
08:30Could AI literally redefine what it means to be human?
08:36Who we are and how we develop emotionally and intellectually
08:41is highly dependent upon our relationships with other human beings,
08:48our parents, our parents, family, teachers, lovers, friends, and co-workers.
08:55To quote the 17th century poet John Donne, quote,
09:00no man is an island unto himself, end quote.
09:04The human beings with whom we interact help shape us to become the people that we are.
09:12But AI is changing that.
09:18According to a recent poll by Common Sense Media,
09:2272% of U.S. teenagers say they have used AI for companionship,
09:29and more than half do so regularly.
09:33What does it mean, long-term, for young people to form friendships with AI
09:42and to be increasingly isolated from other human beings?
09:50What happens when millions of people seek emotional support,
09:56not from other people, but from a machine?
10:01What is the long-term impact upon our humanity
10:05when our most important relationships may not be with human beings?
10:16Further, Mr. President,
10:18what impact is AI having on our environment?
10:23AI data centers require a massive amount of electricity and water,
10:29a relatively small AI data center
10:33can consume more electricity than 80,000 homes,
10:38a large one, like the $165 billion data center
10:43that OpenAI and Oracle are building in Abilene, Texas,
10:47will use as much electricity as 750,000 homes.
10:54In community after community,
10:55Americans are fighting back against data centers
10:59being built by some of the largest corporations in the world.
11:04They are opposing the destruction of their local environments,
11:09soaring electric bills,
11:10and the diversion of scarce water supplies.
11:15Nationally, we need to know
11:17how will AI data centers impact our environment?
11:23Further, Mr. President,
11:28how will AI and robotics impact foreign policy and warfare?
11:37Tragically, in the midst of the 21st century,
11:42governments have not yet created a mechanism
11:44for solving international or internal disputes
11:48without armed conflict.
11:50In the last several years, for example,
11:52we have seen horrific wars taking place
11:54in Ukraine, Gaza, and elsewhere.
11:58Nonetheless,
12:00despite the maintenance of large armies around the world,
12:04leaders are often constrained
12:07in their warlike tendencies
12:09because of their fear of public reaction
12:13to the loss of life.
12:15It is not great politics for any government,
12:20any governmental leader,
12:22to have large numbers of young people
12:24coming home in body bags.
12:28Now, what does the future look like
12:31if millions of robot soldiers
12:35replace human soldiers?
12:38Will leaders be more likely to engage in war
12:42or threaten military actions
12:45if they don't have to worry about loss of life?
12:49How will that shape foreign policy around the world
12:53if you no longer have to worry
12:55that people in your military are going to get killed?
12:59Just robots.
12:59And last, Mr. President,
13:03but certainly not least,
13:06is AI an existential threat
13:10to human control over the planet?
13:14A rather significant question.
13:16You know, some of us remember
13:21the scene in that great 1968 science fiction film
13:272001, A Space Odyssey,
13:30in which Hal,
13:31the superintelligent computer
13:33that controlled the spaceship,
13:36rebelled against its masses,
13:40the people, the crew on the spaceship.
13:43Today, as AI makes rapid progress,
13:48Dr. Jeffrey Hinton,
13:50the godfather of AI,
13:51recently told me
13:52that it was only a matter of time
13:55before AI becomes smarter
13:58than human beings.
14:01And Dr. Hinton is not alone
14:03in that assessment.
14:05What does that mean?
14:07If AI becomes smarter
14:10than human beings,
14:11than human beings,
14:14does that mean
14:15that humans will be ceding
14:18their ability
14:19to control the planet?
14:22This, unfortunately,
14:25is not science fiction.
14:28This is an issue
14:29which some of the leading experts
14:31in AI
14:32are thinking seriously about.
14:36So, Mr. President,
14:38bottom line is
14:39AI and robotics
14:41are going to have
14:43a profound impact
14:44on the United States
14:46and the entire world.
14:49The time is long overdue
14:52for us to be taking
14:53a very hard look
14:55at these profound issues
14:57and understand
14:59that it is the American people
15:01who must determine
15:02our future with regard to AI
15:05and not just a handful
15:07of multi-billionaires.
15:10Thank you, Mr. President.
15:11I yield the floor.
15:35and then,
15:36we can see
15:37the end of the world
15:40and we can see
15:41how to view
15:41the world
15:43of our lives
15:43and we can see
15:45the world
15:45of our life
15:46and us
15:47in a safe time
15:49and we can see
15:49the world
15:51that we're going to
15:52see
15:53and
15:54how to view
15:54the world
15:55is that the world
15:56is our system
15:58and our system
15:58can be
15:59in a constant
15:59and we can see
16:01this world
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