0:03 that enormous and consequential changes
0:06 are coming which will impact our
0:10 economy, our political life, foreign
0:14 policy, our emotional well-being, our
0:17 environment, and how we educate and
0:22 raise our kids. Further, and this is not
0:25 science fiction, some very knowledgeable
0:29 people believe that in the not tooistant
0:33 future, a super intelligent AI could
0:37 replace human beings in controlling the planet.
0:39 planet.
0:41 Despite the extraordinary importance of
0:44 this issue and the speed at which it is
0:47 progressing, AI is getting far too
0:50 little discussion in Congress, the
0:52 media, and within the general
0:56 population. That has got to change.
0:58 Several months ago, as the ranking
0:59 member of the US Senate Committee on
1:02 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
1:04 my staff and I undertook an investigation
1:06 investigation
1:09 regarding the monumental changes that we
1:13 face with the rapid development of AI.
1:16 Last month, I held a public discussion
1:19 at Georgetown University with Nobel
1:22 Prize winner Dr. Jeffrey Hinton
1:25 considered to be the godfather of AI to
1:29 get his views on a wide variety of AI
1:32 related subjects.
1:35 Based on our investigation and other
1:38 information that we are gathering, my
1:42 staff and I will soon be presenting a
1:46 very specific set of recommendations as
1:49 to how we can begin addressing some of
1:55 the unprecedented threats that AI poses.
1:58 And as we go forward,
2:00 here are some of the outstanding
2:03 questions that in my view must be answered.
2:05 answered.
2:07 Simple question and maybe the most
2:11 important. Who will be in charge of the
2:16 transformation into an AI world?
2:18 Currently, a handful of the wealthiest
2:22 people on earth, people like Elon Musk,
2:24 Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg,
2:28 Peter Teal, and others are investing
2:31 many, many hundreds of billions of
2:35 dollars in developing and implementing
2:38 AI and robotics.
2:42 Are we comfortable with seeing these
2:45 enormously wealthy and powerful men
2:49 shape the future of humanity without any
2:53 democratic input or oversight?
2:57 Why does President Trump, who is
3:00 strongly supporting their efforts, want
3:02 to impose an executive order blocking
3:07 states from regulating AI? What does it
3:09 mean that Peter Teal, the billionaire
3:12 investor and co-founder of Palunteer,
3:16 has called those who want regulations
3:20 over AI, quote, legioneers of the
3:23 antirist, end quote?
3:26 Does this elite group of some of the
3:29 most powerful people on earth
3:33 believe that they have the divine right
3:36 to rule? like the kings of the 18th century.
3:38 century.
3:41 That's one question. Another question,
3:45 what impact will AI and robotics have on
3:47 our economy and the lives of working
3:49 people? And I can tell you, Mr.
3:52 president, as somebody who has spoken to
3:55 groups all over this country that
3:58 working people today are very, very
4:02 nervous about what AI and robotics will
4:06 mean to them. The report that my staff
4:10 and I released last month found that AI,
4:14 automation, and robotics could lead to
4:19 nearly the loss of 100 million jobs in
4:23 America over the next decade, including
4:28 40% of registered nurses, 47% of truck
4:33 drivers, 64% of accountants, 65% of
4:34 teaching assistants,
4:39 and 89% of fast food workers. In other
4:41 words, what we're going to see is AI and
4:44 robotics impacting not just blue collar
4:47 workers but white collar workers as well.
4:49 well.
4:53 Mr. President, Elon Musk recently said,
4:57 and I quote, that AI and robots will
5:00 replace all jobs.
5:04 Working will be optional. end of quote.
5:07 Mr. Musk is investing hundreds of
5:09 billions of dollars into AI and
5:11 robotics. I suspect he knows something
5:14 about what he is talking about. Let me
5:18 repeat Elon Musk. Quote, "AI and robots
5:22 will replace all jobs. Working will be
5:26 optional." End quote. Bill Gates,
5:28 founder of Microsoft, predicted that
5:31 humans, quote, won't be needed for most
5:36 things, end quote. Dario Amodi, the CEO
5:39 of Anthropic, warned that AI could lead
5:43 to the loss of half of all entrylevel
5:45 white collar jobs.
5:48 Mr. President, if AI and robotics
5:52 eliminate millions of jobs and create
5:55 massive unemployment,
5:59 how will people survive if they have no
6:02 income? How do they feed their families,
6:05 pay for housing, pay for health care?
6:08 That might be an issue that we should be
6:12 talking about like yesterday.
6:15 Further, Mr. President,
6:18 what impact will AI have on our
6:21 democracy? Some of us, maybe not all,
6:23 here in Washington, but some of us
6:25 actually do believe in democracy and the
6:29 right of ordinary people to control the
6:32 future. At a time when the foundations
6:35 of democracy are under attack here in
6:37 the United States and throughout the
6:41 world, will AI and robotics help make us
6:44 a freer society?
6:47 Or will it give even more power to the
6:50 oligarchs who control and own the technology?
6:52 technology?
6:57 Will AI result in a massive invasion of
7:01 our privacy and our civil liberties?
7:05 Larry Ellison, the second richest person
7:07 on earth who has also invested is
7:11 investing huge amounts of money into AI,
7:14 predicted an AI powered surveillance
7:19 state where quote Larry Ellison quote
7:22 citizens will be on their best behavior
7:25 because we're constantly recording and
7:28 reporting everything
7:31 that is going on." End quote.
7:34 second richest guy on earth, heavily
7:37 investing in AI. And this is what he says.
7:39 says.
7:42 Citizens will be on their best behavior
7:44 because we're constantly recording and
7:46 reporting everything that is going on.
7:48 End of quote.
7:52 Are we reaching the stage where every
7:55 phone call that we make, every email and
7:57 text that we send, every bit of research
8:00 that we do on the internet will be
8:04 available to the billionaire owners of AI?
8:05 AI?
8:09 And if that is the case, how do we
8:12 sustain a democracy under those conditions?
8:15 conditions?
8:18 Further, Mr. President
8:20 terms of another vitally important question.
8:22 question.
8:26 Could AI literally redefine
8:30 what it means to be a human being?
8:34 Could AI literally redefine what it
8:37 means to be human?
8:39 Who we are and how we develop
8:42 emotionally and intellectually
8:44 is highly dependent upon our
8:49 relationships with other human beings,
8:53 our parents, family, teachers, lovers,
8:56 friends, and co-workers. To quote the
9:00 17th century poet John Dunn, quote, "No
9:03 man is an island unto himself." End
9:06 quote. The human beings with whom we
9:10 interact help shape us to become the
9:13 people that we are.
9:18 But AI is changing that.
9:20 According to a recent poll by Common
9:22 Sense Media,
9:26 72% of US teenagers say they have used
9:29 AI for companionship
9:34 and more than half do so regularly.
9:38 What does it mean long term for young
9:41 people to form friendships
9:47 with AI and to be increasingly isolated
9:50 from other human beings?
9:53 What happens when millions of people
9:58 seek emotional support not from other
10:02 people but from a machine?
10:05 What is the long-term impact upon our
10:08 humanity when our most important relationships
10:10 relationships
10:16 may not be with human beings?
10:19 Further, Mr. President, what impact is
10:24 AI having on our environment?
10:27 AI data centers require a massive amount
10:31 of electricity and water. A relatively
10:35 small AI data center can consume more
10:39 electricity than 80,000 homes. A large
10:44 one like the $165 billion data center
10:46 that Open AI and Oracle are building in
10:48 Abalene, Texas, will use as much
10:52 electricity as 750,000 homes.
10:53 homes.
10:57 In community after community, Americans
10:59 are fighting back against data centers
11:02 being built by some of the largest
11:05 corporations in the world. They are
11:07 opposing the destruction of their local
11:10 environments, soaring electric bills,
11:14 and the diversion of scarce water supplies.
11:15 supplies.
11:20 Nationally, we need to know how will AI
11:25 data centers impact our environment.
11:28 Further, Mr. President,
11:33 how will AI and robotics impact foreign
11:37 policy and warfare?
11:40 Tragically, in the midst of the 21st century,
11:42 century,
11:43 governments have not yet created a
11:46 mechanism for solving international or
11:49 internal disputes without armed
11:52 conflict. In the last several years, for
11:54 example, we have seen horrific wars
11:57 taking place in Ukraine, Gaza, and
12:00 elsewhere. Nonetheless,
12:03 despite the maintenance of large armies
12:06 around the world, leaders are often
12:10 constrained in their warlike tendencies
12:14 because of their fear of public reaction
12:16 to the loss of life. It is not great
12:20 politics for any government, any
12:23 governmental leader to have large
12:26 numbers of young people coming home in
12:28 body bags.
12:32 Now, what does the future look like if
12:36 millions of robot soldiers
12:39 replace human soldiers?
12:42 Will leaders be more likely to engage in
12:46 war or threaten military actions if they
12:49 don't have to worry about loss of life?
12:52 How will that shape foreign policy
12:54 around the world if you no longer have
12:57 to worry that people in your military
13:01 are going to get killed? Just robots?
13:04 And last, Mr. President, but certainly
13:07 not least,
13:11 is AI an existential threat to human
13:16 control over the planet? A rather
13:19 significant question.
13:23 You know, some of us remember the scene
13:25 in that great 1968
13:29 science fiction film 2001, A Space
13:32 Odyssey, in which Hal, the super
13:35 intelligent computer that controlled the
13:39 spaceship, rebelled against its masters,
13:44 the people uh the crew on the spaceship.
13:49 Today, as AI makes rapid progress, Dr.
13:51 Jeffrey Hinton, the godfather of AI,
13:54 recently told me that it was only a
13:59 matter of time before AI becomes smarter
14:01 than human beings.
14:04 And Dr. Hinton is not alone in that
14:07 assessment. What does that mean?
14:12 If AI becomes smarter than human being
14:16 than human beings, does that mean that
14:20 humans will be seeding their ability to
14:23 control the planet?
14:27 This unfortunately is not science
14:30 fiction. This is an issue which some of
14:34 the leading experts in AI are thinking
14:36 seriously about.
14:41 So, Mr. President, bottom line is AI and
14:44 robotics are going to have a profound
14:47 impact on the United States and the
14:52 entire world. The time is long overdue
14:56 for us to be taking a very hard look at
14:59 these profound issues and understand
15:02 that it is the American people who must
15:05 determine our future with regard to AI
15:08 and not just a handful of multi-billionaires.
15:10 multi-billionaires.
15:12 Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
