Washington, Sep 14 (IANS) US Vice President JD Vance has raised questions as to why leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies are asking the government to regulate them. He called for agreement between Congress and the White House on rules that address risks while keeping the United States ahead of China.
Vance, in an interaction with reporters, acknowledged concerns about AI development. But he expressed scepticism about the motives behind technology companies’ appeals for government oversight.
“There are obviously risks to AI, there are benefits to AI. I have to say, personally, I feel a little bit weird about the fact that we have so many frontier AI tech companies kind of talking to the government and begging the government to regulate them,” he said.
“It feels a little bit to me like a bit of a Trojan horse, so I think we just have to be careful about this.”
Vance did not name any companies or explain what he believed they hoped to gain from regulation.
Asked about concerns over AI development and calls over the weekend to pause it, he said: “It’s something that we’re concerned by, but we want to make sure that we regulate smartly.”
He did not explicitly endorse a pause. Instead, he pointed to competition with China as a consideration in deciding how Washington should proceed.
“The other thing the President has said pretty consistently is we know that the Chinese are engaged in this long-term AI race against the United States. We want to make sure the United States, we do things smartly but we stay ahead of the curve.”
Asked whether Congress or the administration should lead on regulation, Vance said both should agree on an approach.
“Any regulatory regime we’d like, ideally, Congress and the White House to agree on it so that we actually are able to make it stick and so that we actually get some real consensus behind it.”
Pressed on whether Americans should be frightened, Vance said the administration wanted to stay on top of the risks. He acknowledged that AI, like other technologies, had downsides.
The Vice President also addressed questions about the Houthis and the Red Sea. He said the administration was communicating with the Emiratis, the Saudis and others in the region.
“We’ve also been engaged in direct conversation with the Houthis themselves. So we actually feel like we are on top of the situation; it’s a very fluid and dynamic thing. We want to keep on monitoring it.”
He provided no details about those direct conversations.
Vance also defended speaking directly to senior military officers when asked about a report that he had sought their unvarnished views.
“It’s like the Vice President calls around to admirals and generals to try to understand American foreign policy, of course, I do.”
–IANS
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