U.S. Congressional Rep. plans national strategy to maintain global artificial intelligence lead

U.S. Congressional Representative Will Hurd (R-Texas) will devise a national artificial intelligence strategy for the country, as Congress will play a critical role in the implementation of both AI, and the 5G networks that enable its further adoption, he told an audience at IBM’s Think Gov conference, Nextgov reports.

“The most important role I think Congress has is an oversight role, which is about asking important questions about how new technology is being adopted,” Hurd said.

Hurd, who recently co-sponsored a bill to establish IoT cybersecurity standards in the House, said that he hopes a national strategy helps remain a global leader in AI, and that the values of Western liberal democracies, rather than China, are reflected in AI industry ethics.

“China is not using facial recognition to make it easier to buy groceries in the grocery store,” Hurd says. “They are developing it to continue to keep track of their citizens. So we need to make sure as the ethics around the development of this new technology is based on our values.”

Google and Amazon are among U.S. companies that found success in part due to the strength of the country’s 4G networks, Hurd says, and the implementation of 5G worries him, as many municipalities do not recognize the benefits of quick deployments. Congress can incentivize the development of 5G networks in the next 15 to 18 years, according to Hurd.

Making sure that U.S. allies such as Germany develop 5G networks compatible with U.S. technology is also important, Hurd says, noting that the threat of China and the need for greater cybersecurity are the only the only issues of bipartisan agreement in Congress.

While authoritarian governments have more leverage to move markets quickly, Hurd says American ingenuity and creativity make the country master of its own fate.

“We just need to make sure that the regulatory environment around all these future industries is not overly burdensome and ensure that we allow for continued creativity and entrepreneurship,” he says.

Article Topics

artificial intelligence  |  biometrics  |  China  |  ethics  |  standards  |  U.S. Government