White House To Hold First-Ever Senate Briefing On Artificial Intelligence

On Tuesday, the White House is set to hold its first-ever classified Senate briefing on Artificial Intelligence (AI) at a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) in the US Capitol.

Avril Haines, director of the National Intelligence, will be joined by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Director Trey Whitworth, and Defense Department’s chief digital officer, Craig Martell, reported Reuters. 

The briefing was announced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a letter to colleagues Sunday. Schumer noted that the primary purpose of this briefing is for senators to understand and learn “how we’re using and investing in AI to protect our national security and learn what our adversaries are doing in AI.”

“This briefing will be the first-ever classified Senate briefing on AI and is part of a larger briefing series organized by Schumer, alongside Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.),” noted Schumer.

The unprecedented briefing will also help inform senators about comprehensive legislation to regulate AI, one of the most heated topics in the tech world currently.

Related: White House Looks To Study AI Risks For Workers

According to experts, AI can be a valuable asset as “it has the potential to drastically improve and streamline processes in many different industries and areas of life.” Nonetheless, the developing artificial intelligence technology is raising privacy, safety, and security concerns along with some other ethical issues.

“This is an area where the technology is advancing quickly and we have to make sure that our laws keep up with the changes in technology, and that’s the way we can ensure that our citizens remain safe and secure,” says White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar.

Schumer commented on AI regulations, “Our country must be an AI leader, with a comprehensive federal legislative framework that safeguards our values, opportunities, safety, and security.”

The classified Senate AI briefing will be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday EST.