The true potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies – and the perils that the tech may pose on the world stage – are still unfolding into view, said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who discussed those points this week in the context of strategic competition between the U.S. and China.
“We are still learning about the uses of AI … We are still learning about how certain technologies could [be] you know, metamorphosized into being weaponized,” said Rep. Krishnamoorthi during a Nov. 6 event organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Rep. Krishnamoorthi – who is ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and Chinese Communist Party – also predicted it will take some more time before the private sector and investors in AI will be able to reap the benefits of the technology.
“I think industry … [and] private investors are going to have to probably wait a little bit to see how that iteration takes place to have real certainty, but I don’t think that certainty is going to be there at the start,” the congressman said.
One hot-button issue for investors, Rep. Krishnamoorthi, said is making sure that companies they want to buy into are in good standing with the U.S. government, and not among China-based companies subject to bans.
“What we find with regard to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is that… it’s like Whack a Mole,” he said. “You put one name on the list, and then you say that that’s a forbidden investment, then all of a sudden, another name pops up with the same owners.”
The importance of AI technology and the need to counter China’s rising technological capabilities come as the White House last week issued an executive order that aims to create development guardrails for the new technology and help put the U.S. in a leading position for development of the technology.
“We need to prevent aggression on the part of the CCP, protect our values … continue with engagement, but also up our game,” said Rep. Krishnamoorthi.
