Sen. Chris Murphy on Aug. 21, 2024. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The idea that AI regulation in the U.S. will lead to losing a "race" against China is a "fraud" perpetuated by companies that just want to make a profit, Sen. Chris Murphy argued in an op-ed published Monday.
Why it matters: Murphy, an influential Democrat with potential 2028 presidential ambitions, is staking out a position less popular in Washington these days — AI needs regulation in order for the U.S. to beat China.
What they're saying: "AI industry leaders assert that losing the race to control the global AI market to China would be an existential threat to our safety, an argument that feels correct on its face," Murphy wrote on his Substack.
- "Of course America should want the jobs and the political power that would come by dominating the AI market. And of course we want American, not Chinese, standards to be applied to AI as it becomes mainstreamed with consumers and businesses."
- "But if the American AI industry gets its way, it's likely that neither of those things will happen."
Zoom in: Murphy writes that over the past few years, he's watched AI leaders like OpenAI's Sam Altman come into his office and tour Capitol Hill embracing regulation and later, after President Trump took office again, shirking it.
The big picture: An aide for Murphy's office told Axios the senator took a Silicon Valley trip in March and met with leading frontier AI companies, venture capitalists, whistleblowers and academics. The resounding message from companies and VC was clear: everything is worth it to win against China.
- Skeptical of this message, and amid a backdrop of Congress nearly passing a state AI bill moratorium and top AI leaders warning about job loss as they cut deals with the Trump administration, Murphy wants Congress to be more prepared, the aide said.
The bottom line: Leading AI companies like to talk about the importance of American morals winning out against Chinese ones in the AI race. But that's "whitewash," Murphy argued, based on his own visits to Silicon Valley and meetings with AI leaders in Washington.
- "The only value that guides the AI industry right now is the pursuit of profit."
- "In all my meetings, it was crystal clear that companies like Google and Apple and OpenAI and Anthropic are in a race to deploy consumer-facing, job-killing AGI as quickly as possible, in order to beat each other to the market."
- Murphy noted that AI will have positive impacts, but said it should be regulated at the outset like every other life-changing technology such as the internet and railroads.
