US wants to set the rules for AI, but honchos like Altman, Musk and Zuckerberg have other plans

The US is desperately trying to be the first country that formulate a codified set of regulations on AI, hoping that its legislation around artificial intelligence would then be followed by the rest of the world.

However, the CEOs of some of the biggest AI development studios and tech companies have other plans.

“Thought-leaders of AI” to meet
The US Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, disclosed plans for his office to convene a meeting with prominent figures from the tech sector, especially those that deal with AI and ML, sometime later this month. The aim of this gathering is to garner insights that could potentially shape forthcoming regulations.

In his influential role, Schumer wields substantial authority in shaping the trajectory of federal regulations if they do materialize.

The individuals slated to participate in this meeting do not necessarily represent the average citizen. The invitees to this upcoming summit include tech magnate Elon Musk, hypothetical debate counterpart and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, NVIDIA President Jensen Huang, and Alex Karpy, CEO of defence contractor Palantir, among other notable figures from the upper echelons of Silicon Valley.

Tech CEOs expect leniency, emphasis on profitability on leveraging AI
Schumer’s upcoming gathering, which his office has labelled as an “AI Insight Forum,” does suggest the possibility of impending regulatory action. However, judging by the guest list comprised largely of corporate figures, it raises doubts about the effectiveness of such action.

The selection of attendees for the meeting with Schumer has faced significant criticism online, with many perceiving it as a gathering of influential corporate elites. Nonetheless, Schumer’s office has indicated that the Senator will also engage with civil rights and labour leaders, including the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in America, with its president, Liz Schuler, slated to participate.

Despite this inclusion, it remains challenging to view this closed-door assembly as anything other than an opportunity for the tech industry to seek regulatory leniency from one of America’s most influential politicians.

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The US trying to dictate how the world uses AI
The US has been trying to dictate how the world develops and uses AI. From imposing sanctions on China that restricts the flow of AI-capable silicon to the country, to imposing bans on machinery that is vital to the making of power AI silicon, the US is trying to cut the legs from under the biggest threat it has in AI application.

Several reports surfaced last week which revealed that the US was trying to impose a similar sanction on West Asian countries, trying to stop them from developing their own AI.

Although the US has denied that the President Joe Biden-led administration has imposed any such restrictions, regulatory filings from NVIDIA and AMD have revealed that US-based tech companies need a special kind of export license if they want to send their products to any West Asian nation.