Pramila Jayapal hosts hearing on AI policy and surveillance

U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal hosted a congressional hearing focused on the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy and the potential harms of surveillance AI. Jayapal, co-chair of the Monopoly Busters Caucus, argued that Big Tech companies are seeking to monopolize the industry and profit from the surveillance of citizens.

Witnesses included former Meta employee and whistleblower Dr. Jason Sattizahn, AI Now Institute Co-Executive Director Amba Kak, and Eliza Pan of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice. Testimony also included Leila Turner-Scott, who spoke regarding the death of her son following safety guidance provided by ChatGPT.

Jayapal indicated that she intends to introduce legislation to establish a ‘national federal charter’ for AI companies, modeled after the regulatory frameworks applied to banking institutions.