Who?

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) — Chair, Senate Commerce Committee

LISTEN: Laslo & Cruz

Ask a Pol asks:

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) — now America’s Secretary of State — came out of the AI forum just ahead of you and he’s worried about putting constraints on American generative AI, because those regulations wouldn't apply to China and others. Is that still your thinking?

Key Cruz:

“I think if the Democrats push through restrictions on innovation and AI it would be disastrous for America,” Sen. Ted Cruz exclusively told Ask a Pol founder Matt Laslo upon exiting a classified, all-Senate AI national security forum in 2023.

ICYMI — Laslo first sold this interview to WIRED magazine

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ICYMI — Top Senate Commerce Dem accuses Cruz of undermining states’ AI rights

Ask a Pol politics

Top Dem accuses Ted Cruz of impeding states' AI rights | "They can’t even protect themselves"

Who? Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) — Ranking Member, Senate Commerce Committee…

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10 months ago · 4 likes · Matt Laslo

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Caught our ear:

“Interesting,” Cruz told us. “Interesting.”

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TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Ted Cruz (7-11-2023)

SCENE: Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo greets Sen. Ted Cruz after he exits an all-Senate AI forum hosted by then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and a bipartisan group of senators during the 118th Congress (2023-24).

Matt Laslo: “Hey, how are you Sen. Cruz?”

Ted Cruz: “Good.”

ML: “How’d that hearing go — the briefing?”

TC: “Interesting.”

ML: “Scary?”*

*Cruz had just left the 2nd all-Senate AI forum, which was classified because it focused on potential defense and national security implications of generative AI. Senators were briefed by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, among others.

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TC: “Interesting. There are lots of potential threats from AI. There lots of potential opportunities from AI. I think we need to be straightforward and direct in dealing with both.”

ML: “Rubio came out saying he's worried about putting constraints on the US, because they wouldn't apply to China and others. Is that still kind of your [position]?”

ICYMI — Cruz & Secretary of State Marco Rubio agree

TC: “I think if the Democrats push through restrictions on innovation and AI…”

An elevator arrives for Cruz.

TC: “…it would be disastrous for America.”

Cruz enters elevator.

ML: “Preciate ya.”

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Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD)

LISTEN: Laslo & Rounds

Ask a Pol asks:

When it specifically comes to deepfakes in the 2024 election — anything actionable?

Key Rounds: 

“The thing if we can draw attention to the American public that you’ve got countries outside of the United States that really are trying to influence the elections, and we can use AI to identify what they are and so can the platforms,” Sen. Rounds exclusively told Ask a Pol. “You’ve got to use AI to do it, to detect it in the first place as early as possible.”

Caught our ear:

“But the second piece is there’s got to be more attention brought to the American public that a huge amount of the information that is being presented right now on social media is intended to influence them with misinformation. And that’s just something that we just have to keep pounding on with the American public,” Rounds says. “They’ve got to discern what is accurate and what might actually be a deepfake.”

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Mike Rounds

Matt Laslo: “You had those AI forums, one of your colleagues said they were, y’know, kind of hosted by Big Tech. ‘Cause his accusation in that he was saying it’s hard to regulate…”

ICYMI — Sen. Josh Hawley rips bipartisan AI forums

Mike Rounds: “Not hosted, but, y’know, look, we had players that were making a difference in AI. They wanted to share it. And we didn’t limit it to just one type of advisory group. We invited lots of different types that were involved in the advisory groups. So, for us, we just wanted as much information as we can get from all different sources, and these are the sources. And I don’t wanna do things in ignorance, I wanna do things with as much information as possible, and they were providing it. And in some cases, they actually provided, y’know, information from differing perspectives. That was healthy to hear the difference, and we could then flesh out.”

ML: “Do you think, when it specifically comes to deepfakes in the 2024 election, is anything actionable? I know there’s a couple of competing bills, but we’re now in the midst of an election.”

MR: “You know, we are except, accepting. the thing is, if we can draw attention to the American public that you’ve got countries outside of the United States that really are trying to influence the elections, and we can use AI to identify what they are and so can the platforms. If there’s a way that there’s a comfort level in identifying when you’ve got adversaries that are actually putting misinformation out through, y’know, different sources, but on social media primarily, we can go long ways towards correcting some of it. You’ve got to use AI to do it, to detect it in the first place as early as possible. But the second piece is there’s got to be more attention brought to the American public that a huge amount of the information that is being presented right now on social media is intended to influence them with misinformation. And that’s just something that we just have to keep pounding on with the American public. They’ve got to discern what is accurate and what might actually be a deepfake.”

ML: “At this point, instead of a bill addressing it, would it be easier to put in extra funding for DHS [Department of Homeland Security] or…”

MR: “Yeah. It’s a part of it. It won’t fix it. But because the platforms themselves have to have a comfort level that there is a recognition that restricting what you know to be false information is defensible. And I think that’s where the challenge is going to be. And it’s the reason why we want, like, the Judiciary Committee to really have a say in it, so that we actually use the expertise they’ve got there to help craft that type of legislation.”

Another reporter cuts in with a 2024 election question about Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).

Content posted at AskaPol.com is copyrighted. Use our original content to move the story forward. And, please, link to us.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

LISTEN: Laslo & Cramer 

Ask a Pol asks:

What was your takeaway from all those AI briefings and forums last year?

Key Cramer: 

“I don’t know,” Cramer tells Ask a Pol. “I’s like crypto. When I decide I’m not interested anymore, ‘cause I’ve got 1,400 other priorities, I leave it up to somebody smarter, somebody else.”

Caught our ear on deepfakes

“I think there’s plenty of impetus to act. The problem is that people will act according to what’s in their interest, y’know, at the moment,” Cramer says.

ICYMI

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Kevin Cramer

Matt Laslo: “How are you?”

Kevin Cramer: “Hey, I’m good, how are you?”

ML: “Does tonight matter at all? New Hampshire? Does New Hampshire[‘s primary] matter?”

KC: “Oh, does it matter? Here’s what I’ve always said about New Hampshire and Iowa. And this — it matters less all the time as things get a little bit closer, a little consolidated, right and I’ve got a lot of history with this. Come on in.”

Cramer waves Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo onto his elevator.

KC: “But it matters in this sense — and it still seems to — and that is it’s a momentum creator.”

ML: “Yeah?”

KC: “Particularly, if you stack — if Iowa and New Hampshire go the same direction, it makes almost everything else meaningless. And it’s kind of too bad in the sense that this way, in some respects, a national primary makes some sense, the problem then is that little places like New Hampshire and Iowa...”

ML: “…are forgotten.”

KC: “…their intimate discussions are forgotten. And so that’s the beauty of it. The downside of it is it can create momentum that prevents something else, maybe, from happening. So that’s — so yeah, it matters in that sense.”

ML: “But now with [Florida Governor Ron] DeSantis out, this doesn’t feel like much of a race?”

Both laugh.

KC: “Well, that’s because one guy’s run away with it, and he’s earned it, y’know.”

ML: “Have you seen the deepfakes that were deployed?”

KC: “The what?”

ML: “Have you seen the deepfakes that were deployed? Like using President Biden’s voice?”

ICYMI

KC: “I heard about it this morning on one of the shows when I was working out. It was one of the — I have the three TVs going on, and they’re all different channels.”

Sen. Cramer laughs.

ML: “Because last January I was asking each of you US senators about this, and you were like, ‘What?’ We’re now in the midst of Election 2024…”

KC: “Oh, for sure, we are.”

ML: “…and we’re gonna see deepfakes deployed like we’ve never seen before.”

KC: “Right, probably.”

ML: “Like, is there any impetus to act?”

KC: “Well, I think there’s plenty of impetus to act. The problem is that people will act according to what’s in their interest, y’know, at the moment. So is there a broader impetus to act? You know, I don’t think any of this stuff is — I don’t think anybody likes it, to the degree they can stop it. Y’know, I often wonder how many deepfakes are prevented for each one that gets through. Sorta like any type of a cyber situation, until you can stop them all, y’know, you probably have to counter them with ‘That’s a deep — that’s a fake.’”

ML: “Was the takeaway from all those AI briefings and forums last year — what was your takeaway from them?”

KC: “I don’t know.”

ML: “Right?”

Laslo laughs.

KC: “When I decide — listen, it’s like crypto. When I decide I’m not interested anymore, ‘cause I’ve got 1,400 other priorities, I leave it up to somebody smarter, somebody else.”

ML: “Yeah. Sweet. ‘Preciate you.”

Transcript stops, but audio continues of another reporter asking about 2024 vice Presidnetial politics.

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This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) — Chair, Senate Commerce Committee

Ask a Pol asked

Is it frustrating that the only serious data privacy conversation we have on Capitol Hill in the past decade or so is on this rushed TikTok measure?

Key Cantwell  

“Oh, I don’t know,” Cantwell replied. “I don’t think it’s the only…”

“To hit the floor.”

“Oh you’re saying…”

“To hit the floor.”

“I think the information age — with AI, ChatGPT coming around — everybody’s like, ‘Well, what’s in an algorithm? And what’s it doing?’ And we want to know that too. We want to stop that. Meaning, discrimination, distillers or anything that’s hurting US citizens or the US military,” Cantwell said. “That’s why we wrote the GUARD Act in the NDAA. But, you know, agencies have had different views and some people like certain agency approaches over others and so, you know, these guys got this done so, yeah, it’s something to consider, figuring out how to get a robust tool in the hands of our — to help protect US citizens.”

Background:

See Ask a Pol founder Matt Laslo’s past data privacy coverage for WIRED mag.

Caught our ear  

“We do want to minimize more data collection. We don’t want people to do deleterious things with it,” Cantwell said. “We want to have as robust a system as we can.”

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s interview with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), slightly edited for clarity.

LISTEN: Cantwell scrum

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Maria Cantwell

SCENE: Before she can pop up a senator’s only staircase on her way to vote on the Senate floor, Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo spots Cantwell and then three tech reporters descend on her for an impromptu press co

Matt Laslo: And how’s this young lady?

Reporter 1: How are ya?

Maria Cantwell: Good. How are you all?

Reporter 1: What is your view of the TikTok bill at this point?

MC: We’re talking, you know, we had the GUARD Act which we were trying to — we tried to get that on the DOD [Department of Defense] bill before, and so now we’re just talking to all our colleagues over on the committee and then in leadership about what they want to do. 

Reporter 1: Some have said, you know, you’ve had former aides that are now lobbying for TikTok maybe…

MC: I didn’t even know that. 

Laughter.

Matt Laslo: Are you skeptical of the House proposal?

MC: We want something that’s constitutional, that could do the job. We want a larger privacy bill. We want to fight and minimize data. Like so, we want, you know, we want a robust approach so. And, I think they have parts of that in there but, I think, we want to hear from people about making it, you know, very effective. 

ML: From that, it sounds like you don’t think it’s constitutional? It sounds like you don’t think it’s constitutional.

MC: I want to hear from people. We haven’t heard from everybody. We were…

ML: But you’re not decided?

MC: We were previously working with DOJ [Department of Justice], so that’s why we want to understand this. But, I think, the line they keep saying is ‘it needs improvement’. And I’m like, ‘What does that mean?’

Reporter 2: If you were a House member would you have been a ‘No’ yesterday?

MC: I don’t know. I would’ve probably spent the time before and made a decision.

Reporter 1: Does this strong vote over there affect your thinking at all?

MC: You want people to be engaged. But, the dilemma, you know, like with the Trump’s executive order, you want something that is gonna get sustained so that you can use the tool. ’Cause we do want to minimize more data collection. We don’t want people to do deleterious things with it. We want to have as robust a system as we can. The GUARD Act included a bunch of other stuff, including hardware and other tools that would give us, you know, the overall effort. So we’re gonna, we’re gonna look at it. We’ve just been so busy, we just didn’t have a chance to…

Reporter 2: Would you mark up the GUARD Act? Would you mark that up?

MC: Yeah, we could. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, if you could take the House bill and have them kind of debate that…

MC: Oh I’m sorry, I’m sorry, sorry. We could do either. Right, we could do either. We could take the House bill up or we could take something else. You know I’m going to talk to Mark [Warner] and the Intel. guys, because I think they want to go back and think about their bill. So this has just kicked off a lot of discussion. 

Reporter 1: Have you talked to [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer at all since the passing? 

MC: No. No.

ML: Is it frustrating that the only serious data privacy conversation we have on the Hill,  in the past decade or whatever, is on this rushed TikTok measure?

MC: Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think it’s the only, but…

ML: To hit the floor. 

MC: Oh you’re saying…

ML: To hit the floor.

MC: I think the information age — with AI, ChatGPT coming around — everybody’s like, ‘Well, what’s in an algorithm? And what’s it doing?’ And we want to know that too. We want to stop that. Meaning, discrimination, distillers or anything that’s hurting US citizens or the US military — that’s why we wrote the GUARD Act in the NDAA. But, you know, agencies have had different views and some people like certain agency approaches over others and so, you know, these guys got this done so, yeah, it’s something to consider, figuring out how to get a robust tool in the hands of our — to help protect US citizens.

Reporter 1: Thank you madam chair.

ML: Have a good one ma’am.

MC: You too.

Cantwell’s on her way up private staircase to vote on Senate floor, as the 3 reporters head back to the Capitol’s basement to look for other senators.

ML: That was a good little press conference guys.

Reporter 1: I know. Just the three of us.

Laslo to an attendent.

ML: Have a good weekend, sir.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) — Chair, Foreign Relations Committee

Ask a Pol asked:

Do you think we’ll get any floor time on the AI and deepfake legislation?

Key Cardin: 

“The Rules Committee, I think, is looking at this in conjunction to the elections. Trying to get something out ASAP,” Cardin told Ask a Pol.

“But this is gonna come down to foreign interference?”

“Well, we’ll find out,” Cardin replied. “We might have some interest in that.”

LISTEN: Laslo & Cardin

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Ben Cardin

Ben Cardin: “The Rules Committee, I think, is looking at this in conjunction to the elections. Trying to get something out ASAP.”

Matt Laslo: “So it’s not really under your committee on Foreign Relations?”

BC: “No-no, no, it’s really Rules [Committee], ‘cause it’s election. But we have some…”

ML: “But this is gonna come down to foreign interference. Parts of it, but still.”

BC: “Well, we’ll find out.”

ML: “Yeah?”

BC: “We might have some interest in that.”

ML: “Do you think we’ll get any floor time? It just doesn’t feel like this is a thing.”

BC: “It’s a big — it’s a big deal, yeah. We’re trying to take care of the election issue first.”

ML: “Yeah? Preciate ya.”

Matt Laslo covers tech politics for WIRED, lectures on technology’s impact on government at Johns Hopkins and is the founder of Ask a Pol — a new people-powered press corps. 

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol. @AskaPol_AI 

Content posted at AskaPol.com is copyrighted. Use our original content to move the story forward. And, please, link to us.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)

Ask a Pol asked:

Is there going to be any legislative response to the Biden deepfake?

Key Hirono: 

“We could all predict that this was going to happen,” Hirono tells Ask a Pol. “So I hope that that this would be a bipartisan effort to make sure that people are not lied to in this way. It’s really terrible.”

Doesn’t election make it harder to pass a deepfake bill?

“Since it’s already upon us, we should do something about it to prevent this kind of abuse,” Hirono said. “I should think there’s more of an imperative to do something about it.”

Content posted at AskaPol.com is copyrighted. Use our original content to move the story forward. And, please, link to us.

LISTEN: Laslo & Hirono

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Mazie Hirono

Matt Laslo: “Hey, how are you, ma’am? I remember asking you last year about deepfakes in the 2024 election…”

Mazie Hirono: “About what?”

ML: “About deepfakes — using of AI, generative AI. Now we’re here in 2024. Did you catch the one with — imitating Biden?”

MH: “I didn’t hear it, but I heard it described, that that is what is happening.”

ML: “Any senatorial response? Any legislative response?”

MH: “There’s already a bill that was introduced that I’ve signed on to that would prevent the use of AI without disclosure in the political context, and I believe it’s being led by [Sen.] Amy Klobuchar. So she has a lot of election bills.”

ML: “But now we’re in the midst of the election…”

MH: “Yes, I know.”

ML: “…does kind of that suck the air out of this town and this building?”

MH: “What do you mean ‘suck the air out of it’?”

ML: “Are you going to able to get floor time for it?”

MH: “I don’t know, but I think that that’s something that I would bring up with Amy [Klobuchar] to see what we can do. Because we could all predict that this was going to happen.”

ML: “Yeah.”

MH: “So I hope that that this would be a bipartisan effort to make sure that people are not lied to in this way. It’s really terrible.”

ML: “Are there any more resources y’all can provide Homeland Security or something like that?”

MH: “There may be, I don’t know.”

ML: “Yeah?”

MH: “But, since it’s already upon us, we should do something about it to prevent this kind of abuse.”

ML: “But doesn’t it make it harder now that we’re in the middle of an election to get something on the floor?”

MH: “I should think there’s more of an imperative to do something about it.”

ML: “I’ll be watching. Preciate you.”

MH: “Yes. Thank you.”

Matt Laslo covers tech politics for WIRED, lectures on technology’s impact on government at Johns Hopkins and is the founder of Ask a Pol — a new people-powered press corps. 

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol. @AskaPol_AI 

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Who?

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)

Ask a Pol asked:

Is there going to be any legislative response to the Biden deepfake?

Key Hirono: 

“We could all predict that this was going to happen,” Hirono tells Ask a Pol. “So I hope that that this would be a bipartisan effort to make sure that people are not lied to in this way. It’s really terrible.”

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Doesn’t election make it harder to pass a deepfake bill?

“Since it’s already upon us, we should do something about it to prevent this kind of abuse,” Hirono said. “I should think there’s more of an imperative to do something about it.”

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LISTEN: Laslo & Hirono

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Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Mazie Hirono

Matt Laslo: “Hey, how are you, ma’am? I remember asking you last year about deepfakes in the 2024 election…”

Mazie Hirono: “About what?”

ML: “About deepfakes — using of AI, generative AI. Now we’re here in 2024. Did you catch the one with — imitating Biden?”

MH: “I didn’t hear it, but I heard it described, that that is what is happening.”

ML: “Any senatorial response? Any legislative response?”

MH: “There’s already a bill that was introduced that I’ve signed on to that would prevent the use of AI without disclosure in the political context, and I believe it’s being led by [Sen.] Amy Klobuchar. So she has a lot of election bills.”

ML: “But now we’re in the midst of the election…”

MH: “Yes, I know.”

ML: “…does kind of that suck the air out of this town and this building?”

MH: “What do you mean ‘suck the air out of it’?”

ML: “Are you going to able to get floor time for it?”

MH: “I don’t know, but I think that that’s something that I would bring up with Amy [Klobuchar] to see what we can do. Because we could all predict that this was going to happen.”

ML: “Yeah.”

MH: “So I hope that that this would be a bipartisan effort to make sure that people are not lied to in this way. It’s really terrible.”

ML: “Are there any more resources y’all can provide Homeland Security or something like that?”

MH: “There may be, I don’t know.”

ML: “Yeah?”

MH: “But, since it’s already upon us, we should do something about it to prevent this kind of abuse.”

ML: “But doesn’t it make it harder now that we’re in the middle of an election to get something on the floor?”

MH: “I should think there’s more of an imperative to do something about it.”

ML: “I’ll be watching. Preciate you.”

MH: “Yes. Thank you.”

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Matt Laslo covers tech politics for WIRED, lectures on technology’s impact on government at Johns Hopkins and is the founder of Ask a Pol — a new people-powered press corps. 

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol. @AskaPol_AI 

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Ask a Pol asked:

“I haven’t talked to you since the FEC [Federal Election Commission] moved on deepfakes — do you think it’ll solve it?”

Key Klobuchar:

“Well, that’s very helpful, but we should still pass the bill in the package of AI, if not somewhere else,” Klobuchar exclusively told Ask a Pol.

LISTEN: Laslo & Klobuchar

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Amy Klobuchar

SCENE: After President Joe Biden finished his State of the Union address, Sen. Klobuchar was walking through the Capitol with a staffer.

Amy Klobuchar: “Hey.”

Matt Laslo: “What are the marks you give him [President Joe Biden] on AI?”

Klobuchar laughs.

Klobuchar Staffer: “He did in his closing.”

AK: “Yeah, he did. He also did talk about the children’s safety [act or KOSA].”

ML: “Yeah?”

AK: “Ya know, and I was glad. I may have been the first one to stand, I don’t know. But (inaudible) on the tech safety. I also was the first one to stand on transparency in ticketing.”

ML: “I haven’t talked to you since the FEC [Federal Election Commission] moved on deepfakes.”

AK: “Yes!”

ML: “Do you think it’ll solve it?”

AK: “Well, that’s very helpful, but we should still pass the bill in the package of AI, if not somewhere else, so, I think…”

ICYMI

ML: “What’s the problem right now if you guys don’t act?”

AK: “Well, we’re just — Schumer is putting together a framework, right? With [Sens.] Todd Young (R-IN) and [Sen. Mike] Rounds (R-ND) and [Martin] Heinrich (D-NM) — it’s a bipartisan framework. So we’re waiting for that. And we got two levels on the AI: one is the deepfakes, to ban those. And the second is the labeling for the next grade down of AI. I gotta go.”

ML: “And you got the White House on your side?”

AK: “Yeah.”

ML: “Thank you, ma’am. Have a good one!”

Matt Laslo’s a veteran congressional correspondent, new media prof. & founder of Ask a Pol — a new, people-powered press corps.

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Ask a Pol asked:

“I haven’t talked to you since the FEC [Federal Election Commission] moved on deepfakes — do you think it’ll solve it?”

Key Klobuchar:

“Well, that’s very helpful, but we should still pass the bill in the package of AI, if not somewhere else,” Klobuchar exclusively told Ask a Pol.

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LISTEN: Laslo & Klobuchar

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), slightly edited for clarity.

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TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Amy Klobuchar

SCENE: After President Joe Biden finished his State of the Union address, Sen. Klobuchar was walking through the Capitol with a staffer.

Amy Klobuchar: “Hey.”

Matt Laslo: “What are the marks you give him [President Joe Biden] on AI?”

Klobuchar laughs.

Klobuchar Staffer: “He did in his closing.”

AK: “Yeah, he did. He also did talk about the children’s safety [act or KOSA].”

ML: “Yeah?”

AK: “Ya know, and I was glad. I may have been the first one to stand, I don’t know. But (inaudible) on the tech safety. I also was the first one to stand on transparency in ticketing.”

ML: “I haven’t talked to you since the FEC [Federal Election Commission] moved on deepfakes.”

AK: “Yes!”

ML: “Do you think it’ll solve it?”

AK: “Well, that’s very helpful, but we should still pass the bill in the package of AI, if not somewhere else, so, I think…”

ICYMI

ML: “What’s the problem right now if you guys don’t act?”

AK: “Well, we’re just — Schumer is putting together a framework, right? With [Sens.] Todd Young (R-IN) and [Sen. Mike] Rounds (R-ND) and [Martin] Heinrich (D-NM) — it’s a bipartisan framework. So we’re waiting for that. And we got two levels on the AI: one is the deepfakes, to ban those. And the second is the labeling for the next grade down of AI. I gotta go.”

ML: “And you got the White House on your side?”

AK: “Yeah.”

ML: “Thank you, ma’am. Have a good one!”

Matt Laslo’s a veteran congressional correspondent, new media prof. & founder of Ask a Pol — a new, people-powered press corps.

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

Ask a Pol asked:

How worried are you after seeing that Biden deepfake in the New Hampshire primary?

Key Collins:

“It’s exactly the kind of thing we’ve been worried about, is using the AI, it is remarkably easy to imitate voices or send out a video of someone who is running for office and appears to be doing something or saying something that is utterly fake. And I’m very concerned. That’s why we introduced the bill.”

DEEPER DIVE:

This interview helped inform this feature: ‘Abuse’: Politicians are fretting about AI stealing their faces and voices

LISTEN: Susan Collins

Matt Laslo covers tech politics for WIRED, lectures on technology’s impact on government at Johns Hopkins and is the founder of Ask a Pol — a new people-powered press corps. 

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol. @AskaPol_AI

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS)

Ask a Pol asked:

“Some of your colleague have called for a more sweeping, catch-all AI bill — is it better, from your standpoint, to do this committee by committee and small? Or?”

Key Moran 

“Well, I’d love to see committees do their work. And there’s wide jurisdiction here, with lots of consequences. And I think it’s a broad enough issue that if every committee did their own work and produced a good product, it’d be a great outcome,” Moran tells Ask a Pol. “Well, I always worry that a talk of a big bill means some gang of ten or something, and we bypass a committee process and we end up in a kind of a position that we’re in now working on the border.”

Caught our ear  

“Well, I always worry that the talk of a big bill means some gang of 10 or something and we bypass the committee process and we end up in the kind of position that we’re in now working on the border,” Moran says.

LISTEN: Laslo & Moran

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Jerry Moran

Seems Laslo snuck up on the senator…

Jerry Moran: “Oh, hey. Oh, hello.”

Matt Laslo: “I was just curious, did you have any takeaways from the AI forums and briefings last year?”

JM: “Well, I have nothing that’s reportable other than there’s a lot of challenges here, and we need to get it right. Serious consequences, and we’ve introduced legislation requiring — this as a [Sen. Mark] Warner-Moran thing — requiring utilizing the NIST standards government-wide but then encouraging them among the private sector.”

ML: “Some of your colleague have called for a more sweeping, catch-all AI bill — is it better, from your standpoint, to do this committee by committee and small? Or?”

JM: “Well, I’d love to see committees do their work. And there’s wide jurisdiction here, with lots of consequences. And I think it’s a broad enough issue that if every committee did their own work and produced a good product, it’d be a great outcome.”

ML: “Yeah? What are your thoughts on a big AI bill? Or even there’s talk of a commission that some members have proposed?”

JM: “Well, I always worry that the talk of a big bill means some gang of 10 or something and we bypass the committee process and we end up in the kind of position that we’re in now working on the border.”

ML: “Yeah? And Silicon Valley ends up writing it?”

JM: “And everything else.”

ML: “Yep. Appreciate ya.”

JM: “Yes, sir.”

Matt Laslo’s a veteran congressional correspondent, new media prof. & founder of Ask a Pol — a new, people-powered press corps.

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO)

Hawley’s asked

So do you think there’s time this year for AI legislation?

Key Hawley

“Time? Yes. Willingness? No,” Hawley replies.

“Tech companies, they always get their way here”

“I don’t get it. I don’t understand why these companies, these tech companies, they always get their way here. It’s all the same people. It’s Microsoft. It’s Google. It’s Meta. And they always say: ‘We’re for guardrails’ but they never are. Unless they write them, and then if they write them (inaudible). Take our Section 230 bill. It’s like the most modest bill. It just says that somebody can get into court if their image or likeness is used, they’re a victim of AI technology, if they’re a victim of a prank phone call, I guess, they can sue a company that helped a perpetrate it. But oh no, the companies are dead set against it.”

DEEPER DIVE: This interview helped inform Matt Laslo’s reporting for this feature: ‘Abuse’: Politicians are fretting about AI stealing their faces and voices

LISTEN: Laslo & Hawley

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Laslo & Hawley

Reporter: “I guess the kind of question is does [the fake Biden robocall in New Hampshire] kind of increase the sense of urgency for the bill that you guys have, the AI and deepfake bill?”

Josh Hawley: “Yeah, because we’re going to see — my prediction is we’re going to see a lot of this stuff. We’re going to see videos too. The voice is bad, but the videos are going to be really bad. Because they're at a point — and I'm sure you all have seen these videos — they're really realistic, you can’t tell the difference, a lot of them now. They're going to get better and better and better, more and more quickly, and when you add the voice with the video, I mean, it's gonna be impossible to tell. People are not going to know. So, no, I think we need to, this is an area where we need to act. Congress needs to take action.”

Matt Laslo: “But it feels like after all of last year’s forums and everything, there was no impetus to act?”

JH: “All those forums, they were critical!”

Hawley laughs.

ML: “Right?”

JH: “That really built momentum! Yeah, it’s important to have all those cocktail parties with all of the biggest companies in the world, because they always want us to take action. No, those were a total joke, let’s be honest.”

Reporter: “But you’ve been pushing for consequences to AI, and so, do you feel, are you expecting that there will be some sort of lawsuit or anything?”

JH: “Oh, lawsuit? Oh, I hope so. But well, but here’s the problem, you can’t sue them, because they say they’re immune under Section 230. So lo and behold, they now say: ‘Oh, we’re immune.’”

Reporter: “That would apply to some social media companies doing this, but the actors who are involved in it?”

JH: “Oh, the individuals?”

Reporter: “Yeah.”

JH: “I mean, can you find them? Yes, sure, if you can find them, and, I mean, good luck. But the technology, the platforms on which it’s disseminated, you know, that’s where you want to get access to. I mean, listen, I’d love to sue the actors. I’d love to sue em all. But we need a change in legislation to make it clear that AI companies cannot hide behind Section 230 and we need to pass our elections bill.”

Reporter: “And who is opposing your bill?”

JH: “Well, the companies. I mean, when I went to the floor — I mean, my own party opposes it. I mean, I tried to pass that before the Sen. [Ted] Cruz objected. But I mean, yeah, go ahead.”

Reporter: “No, no, I mean, I guess I can talk to Sen. Cruz about why, but I mean — did you try to talk to him about it?”JH: “Yes, oh, we have an interesting back-and-forth on the floor about it. And I don’t want to speak for him, I have a lot of respect for Ted. But I just think that — I don’t get it. I don’t understand why these companies, these tech companies, they always get their way here. It’s all the same people. It’s Microsoft. It’s Google. It’s Meta. And they always say: ‘We’re for guardrails’ but they never are. Unless they write them, and then if they write them (inaudible). Take our Section 230 bill. It’s like the most modest bill. It just says that somebody can get into court if their image or likeness is used, they’re a victim of AI technology, if they’re a victim of a prank phone call, I guess, they can sue a company that helped a perpetrate it. But oh no, the companies are dead set against it.”

Reporter: “So do you think there’s time this year for AI legislation?”

JH: “Time? Yes. Willingness? No.”

Reporter: “That’s the issue of willingness, not time?”

JH: “Sen. Schumer had all of these, I call em cocktail parties with these companies, vowing action, action, action. Here we are, he’s put exactly nothing on the floor. Sen. [Richard] Blumenthal and I have bipartisan bills they could put on the floor. Sen. [Amy] Klobuchar and I have bipartisan bills…”

Reporter: “So is [your] election [bill] still a priority for Schumer or not? Do you know? Have you heard anything? He said that election AI legislation is a priority this year.”

JH: “That’s just talk. I’ll believe it when I see it. We had antitrust bills that we voted out of committee on a bipartisan basis in the last Congress, and he didn’t touch them. They were bills — for two full years and he didn’t put them on the floor. I don’t think he’s going to. I would expect nothing from him because these companies are extremely powerful and wealthy and influential.”

Reporter: “So what has to happen? Some lawsuits? They have to lose big in the courts and then that’s what’s going to change the dynamic?”

JH: “Well, one of the problems though is that you can’t sue them.” 

Reporter: “But there are pending lawsuits…”

JH: “There are pending lawsuits, and there are some on social media too. But, in general, these folks are going to win these lawsuits because they use Section 230. So what’s going to have to happen is probably public outrage. That’s what’s going to have to happen, and that’s what they ask for. People like me are going to continue to have to go to the floor, which I’m going to do, and bring up these bills, and make people come and object.”

Reporter: “So when’s your next vote on the floor?”

JH: “Hopefully soon. I think that current circumstances suggest we should do it soon.”

Reporter: “There’s also been some discussion about, even at the FEC, provisions with the FEC, having the FEC enforce some of these things more, which is very relevant to this crisis. Do you think there’s room for that?”

JH: “I think start with the bill. Start with the bill I have with Sen. Klobuchar…”

Matt Laslo covers tech politics for WIRED, lectures on technology’s impact on government at Johns Hopkins and is the founder of Ask a Pol — a new people-powered press corps. 

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol. @AskaPol_AI

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)

Ask a Pol asks:

“Do you think we’ll see any Senate action on deepfakes ahead of the election now we’re in the midst?”

Key Kaine: 

“Pretty nervous about this,” Kaine told Ask a Pol. “Because of Biden robocall, the fake Biden robocall. I haven’t heard discussion of Senate action about it. But I think all of us paid a lot of attention to that, and we have members who’ve been warning about it for a while.”

Content posted at AskaPol.com is copyrighted. Use our original content to move the story forward, and, please, link to us.

LISTEN: Laslo & Kaine

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Tim Kaine

Matt Laslo: “Do you think we’ll see any Senate action on deepfakes ahead of the election now we’re in the midst?”

Tim Kaine: “Pretty nervous about this…”

ML: “Right?”

TK: “…this Biden robocall, the fake Biden robocall. I haven’t heard discussion of Senate action about it, but I think all of us paid a lot of attention to that. And we have members who’ve been warning about it for a while.”

ML: “Yeah, but now we’re in the midst of the election, makes it harder, right?”

TK: “Well, I mean, it can affect either side, but I’ve just not heard of legislative action.”

ML: “Yeah. Preciate ya.”

Matt Laslo’s a veteran congressional correspondent, new media prof. & founder of Ask a Pol — a new, people-powered press corps.

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) — former Senate GOP Whip; running to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell as GOP Leader

Ask a Pol asked:

“What was your takeaway from all those AI briefings and forums?”

Clutch Cornyn: 

“I think there’s been a lot of hype,” Cornyn tells Ask a Pol. “I think it’s a good idea for us to understand it better, but I don’t think the scare tactics have been particularly useful.”

Caught our ear: AI regulatory body?

“There’s one guy, I think, former CEO of IBM, who said: ‘You can’t regulate what you don’t understand,’” Cornyn tells us.

LISTEN: Laslo & Cornyn

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. John Cornyn

Matt Laslo: “What was your takeaway from all those AI briefings and forums?”

John Cornyn: “Well, either it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, or it’s going to take over the world and destroy us. It’s one of the two.”

Laslo laughs.

ML: “But can’t it be both at the same time?”

Laughs.

JC: “Probably. I think there’s been a lot of hype. I think it’s a good idea for us to understand it better, but I don’t think the scare tactics have been particularly useful.”

ML: “Yeah? And do you think — like some people call for an AI regulatory body, you think that’s going overboard?”

JC: “I do. There’s one guy, I think, former CEO of IBM, who said: ‘You can’t regulate what you don’t understand.’”

ML: “Yeah. There you go. Have a good one, sir!”

Matt Laslo’s a veteran congressional correspondent, new media prof. & founder of Ask a Pol — a new, people-powered press corps.

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol. @AskaPol_ai

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) — former Senate GOP Whip; running to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell as GOP Leader

Ask a Pol asked:

“What was your takeaway from all those AI briefings and forums?”

Clutch Cornyn: 

“I think there’s been a lot of hype,” Cornyn tells Ask a Pol. “I think it’s a good idea for us to understand it better, but I don’t think the scare tactics have been particularly useful.”

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Caught our ear: AI regulatory body?

“There’s one guy, I think, former CEO of IBM, who said: ‘You can’t regulate what you don’t understand,’” Cornyn tells us.

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LISTEN: Laslo & Cornyn

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. John Cornyn

Matt Laslo: “What was your takeaway from all those AI briefings and forums?”

John Cornyn: “Well, either it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, or it’s going to take over the world and destroy us. It’s one of the two.”

Laslo laughs.

ML: “But can’t it be both at the same time?”

Laughs.

JC: “Probably. I think there’s been a lot of hype. I think it’s a good idea for us to understand it better, but I don’t think the scare tactics have been particularly useful.”

ML: “Yeah? And do you think — like some people call for an AI regulatory body, you think that’s going overboard?”

JC: “I do. There’s one guy, I think, former CEO of IBM, who said: ‘You can’t regulate what you don’t understand.’”

ML: “Yeah. There you go. Have a good one, sir!”

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Matt Laslo’s a veteran congressional correspondent, new media prof. & founder of Ask a Pol — a new, people-powered press corps.

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol. @AskaPol_ai

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) — serves on both Senate Judiciary & Commerce Committees

Ask a Pol asked:

Is there any chatter or movement on your deepfake legislation?

Clutch Klobuchar: 

““Well, I hope so. I guess it’s gotten frontpage interest now. And this is what I said: hair on fire — we can’t wait until next year to get this done. This is just going to keep happening, and that’s why this banning deepfake ads — and by the way, the bill actually would cover what happened with the robocall. So it’s not just ads that you would see that are paid, it’s using deepfakes in a political campaign, to raise money or influence an election in any way…”

Interview helped inform this feature:

‘Abuse’: Politicians are fretting about AI stealing their faces and voices, by Matt Laslo, 1-26-2024*

*I do dozens of interviews for most features, but only a handful of them make the cut — the others help me write so authoritatively.

LISTEN: Laslo & Klobuchar

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Amy Klobuchar

Matt Laslo: “Hey senator, I was wondering if there’s any chatter or movement on your deepfake legislation?”

Amy Klobuchar: “Well, I hope so. I guess it’s gotten frontpage interest now. And this is what I said: hair on fire — we can’t wait until next year to get this done. This is just going to keep happening, and that’s why this banning deepfake ads — and by the way, the bill actually would cover what happened with the robocall. So it’s not just ads that you would see that are paid, it’s using deepfakes in a political campaign, to raise money or influence an election in any way. So it actually covers what happened with the robocall, and I keep adding Republicans, [Sen. Pete] Rickets (R-NE) is on it now. And, as you know, [Sen. Josh] Hawley (R-MO) is the lead Republican. And they’ve done in states blue and red. They’ve done it in Texas. But those things only apply to state campaigns, and that’s why this has got to be a priority in our AI legislation — doing it on its own or doing it as part of the package, it has to happen soon. We can’t wait. And there’s two things we have to do: one is the disclaimers and the watermarks, which some of the companies are doing voluntarily. But that is not going to be enough. You’re not going to have a fake Joe Biden make a call or a fake Donald Trump, and then at the end you go: ‘Oh by the way, this was created by AI.’ It’s not going to work. And so that’s why you have to ban the actual deepfakes where people — it’s pretty simple to define. You have to have an exception for satire under the Supreme Court precedent, which we do. We’ve had Democratic and Republican lawyers look at it. Anyone that thinks it’s something, look at it, helping one side or another, the fact that I’m doing it with Hawley should be an answer to you on that. It’s not. It’s just the right thing to do for our democracy.”

ML: “How would what we all just witnessed in New Hampshire have played out differently under your legislation?”

AK: “It would have been banned, and it would have been whoever — and remember, the company did that, right? And now they’ve been — someone did that. And so at least going into it, people that might think that they could participate in something like that would know that it was against the law from the very beginning. It allows — imagine if these deepfakes start going on all the platforms, and some of them are big, some of them are small. This would be very clear they have to take them down immediately and it will also in the middle of a political campaign allow them to say: ‘The law says we have to take this down, this isn’t satire.’ TV does this all the time. TV decides there’s ads they can allow. They look at them and say, ‘Do they meet the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] standards or not?’ Well, this would be the same kind of thing for deepfakes. I’ve got to go…”

Reporter: “Your bill is not new, why hasn’t it gotten attention?”

AK: “That’s because we’re working on a package on AI, Sen. [Chuck] Schumer is, and so it’s part of that package. I hope it will be. And this should guarantee that we get more Republican senators strongly saying this is wrong.”

Reporter: “Thank you, senator.”

ML: “Thank you so much, ma’am.”

Matt Laslo covers tech politics for WIRED, lectures on technology’s impact on government at Johns Hopkins and is the founder of Ask a Pol — a new people-powered press corps. On social @MattLaslo // @Ask_a_Pol

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) — Senate Majority Whip (ie #2 Senate Democrat)

Ask a Pol’s ask:

“Now that we’ve seen deepfakes deployed — you know, using Biden’s voice — in New Hampshire, do you think Congress is going to be able to address that ahead of November?”

Key (and only…) Quote: 

“Gotta ask Amy Klobuchar. I think she’s got some proposals on that, deepfakes.”

Interview helped inform this feature:

‘Abuse’: Politicians are fretting about AI stealing their faces and voices, by Matt Laslo, 1-26-2024*

*I do dozens of interviews for most features, but only a handful of them make the cut — the others help me write so authoritatively.

Subscribe so our next exclusive raw AI conversation hits your inbox first!

Next up (& longer…):

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

LISTEN: Laslo & Durbin

Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), slightly edited for clarity.

TRANSCRIPT: Sen. Dick Durbin

SCENE: Laslo’s standing in basement of US Capitol on a busy Tuesday during a Senate vote chatting with another reporter when he sees Dick Durbin and his security detail exit a tram.

Matt Laslo: “Hey, how are you? I’m gonna go get Durbin.”

Laslo approaches Durbin.

ML: “Hey, how are you, senator?”

Durbin makes eye contact.

ML: “Now that we’ve seen deepfakes deployed — you know, using Biden’s voice — in New Hampshire, do you think Congress is going to be able to address that ahead of November?”

Dick Durbin: “Gotta ask [Sen.} Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). I think she’s got some proposals on that, deepfakes.”

ML: “But it doesn’t seem like it’s a priority here now that we’re in the election.”

Durbin and his detail kept moving past a scrum of reporters and Laslo was left behind before they hopped an elevator.

DD: “Yeah.”

Matt Laslo covers tech politics for WIRED, lectures on technology’s impact on government at Johns Hopkins and is the founder of Ask a Pol — a new people-powered press corps. On social @MattLaslo // @Ask_a_Pol

Ask a Pol — asking your lawmakers your questions at your US Capitol.

*we blame Congress for typos (though ping us & we’ll take care of any!)

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.askapoluaps.com/subscribe

The US Senate joined the meme realm of the Minecraft playing and pop-verse remixing AI presidents of TikTok Wednesday as Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) kicked off a hearing with a nearly 40 second corny, yet seemingly effective, AI parody of “New York, New York” complete with AI generated Frank Sinatra.

Coons’ AI parody of Frank Siatra’s “New York, New York” sung by AI Sinatra. Clip via C-SPAN .

“AI, AI” greeted attendees and panelists alike to the hearing, which showcased film, music and legal experts—but not before the show.

AI used the hook of “Start spreading the news” to launch into an original ballad about the ever-learning nature of AI and the “digital minds” of those who create it. While the voice wasn’t perfectly Sinatra—likely because it wasn’t Ol’ Blue Eyes himself—and the timing was off at parts, but it was recognizably Sinatra, possibly as if he had a cold. The song, while still rhyming, jammed too many words into tight instrumental spaces or left dead air where lyrics would typically appear. The AI also had a few issues modulating some of the words, but to the unassuming ear, this could’ve just sounded like a skipping record. 

While the parody didn’t leave anyone thinking Sinatra had risen from the dead to grace the room with a tune, the example did garner applause, laughter and some cringes from the attendees.

Once the room settled, Coons admitted there’s a version of this song his team made with him duetting the number with AI Sinatra, but his voice was “so horribly flat” he didn’t want to “impose” it on anyone.

This isn’t the first time Congress has tried to leverage the power of AI to push a point, either. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently used his floor speeches to train AI to mimic his voice, which he used to open a hearing with almost unrecognizable difference. Unsuspecting listeners may have thought the senator called into the hearing due to how life-like it sounded. 

It doesn’t stop with vocal parody. Earlier in this Congress, two House members used ChatGPT to generate content now enshrined in the Congressional Record. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) used the now infamous tool to draft a resolution calling on Congress to focus on AI back in January, and Rep. Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) had the language model write him a one-minute floor speech announcing his support for a joint AI research effort between the US and Israel.

However, Wednesday was the first time Congress memeified the technology—or was Congress memeified once again?

Noah’s an intern with The LCB (Laslo Congressional Bureau). Previously, they’ve covered tech, cannabis, AI and entertainment. Past work found here.

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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is potentially open to supporting regulations on how the federal government uses AI, but he’s opposed to Congress regulating Silicon Valley firms who sell Americans private data like it’s a commodity.

“I think even now the Department of Defense does not allow a machine to make a decision, but whether it’s smart to codify that, sure,” Rubio told reporters staked outside of Tuesday’s classified all-senators AI briefing at the US Capitol.

Rubio—the vice-chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee—was one of the first senators to leave the briefing while it was still going, and he came out in strong defense of US tech firms’ use of AI and American’s private data.

“Google’s application would be very different than what the government might use it for, although the same engineering capability can be reengineered for some other nefarious purposes,” Rubio said.

Here’s a short, :39 second clip of prof. Laslo questing Marco Rubio. The raw, uncut 10+ minute audio from the scrum is below.

A rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s brief exchange with Rubio yesterday (7-11-2023), after he left a classified all-senators AI briefing. Slightly edited for clarity.

Follow Ask a Pol for breaking, raw and uncut AI news from the US Capitol.

Matt Laslo: “It seems like you’re saying: put constraints on the government but Silicon Valley we trust—we don’t want to hamper them.” 

Marco Rubio: “Well, we still have laws that govern things like privacy….”

ML: “No, we don’t. Y’all haven’t touched that.”

MR: “...and property rights….”

ML: “No—y’all haven’t touched that.”

MR: “...and speech and all kinds of things. Certainly, those things would still be prohibited no matter whether it’s a human or a machine that’s violating it.”

ML: “You all haven’t touched data privacy.”

MR: “Look, again, I just don’t…”

ML: “AI is going to take all of our personal data that they have in Silicon Valley right now, because y’all haven’t acted...”

MR: “Well, they’ll take the data to try to predict what you’re going to buy tomorrow or where you want to travel to tomorrow or what you want to look at, and it already does.”

Matt Laslo is a WIRED magazine contributor, lectures on new media’s impact on government at Johns Hopkins University (MA) and the founder of Ask A Pol—a people-powered press corps. Find him on most social media @MattLaslo. 

We’re @Ask_a_Pol or @askpols on Insta. 

Camila Aponte and Noah Kolenda contributed to this post.