Elon Musk (L) and Mark Zuckerberg.
Credit: Reuters Photos
Senator Chuck Schumer plans to bring together several technology industry chiefs to discuss the ramifications of artificial intelligence, including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who have been discussing whether to bring their rivalry to a cage match.
Others attending the closed-door meeting in September are Sundar Pichai, the chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc.’s Google; Microsoft Corp. CEO Satya Nadella; Nvidia Corp. co-founder Jensen Huang, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, according to Schumer’s office.
The gathering, which was reported earlier Monday by Axios, is intended as the first of Schumer’s AI Insight Forums, and part of his strategy to give Congress more influence over the future of AI as it takes on a growing role in the professional and personal lives of Americans.
Meta Platforms Inc., of which Zuckerberg is CEO, declined to comment. Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc. and owner of X, previously known as Twitter, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Schumer, in a June speech, rolled out a policy framework to aid lawmakers as they work to begin regulating artificial intelligence, saying that Congress should promote American innovation while protecting consumers from dangers posed by the technology. Industry leaders are urging new safeguards to curb the threat AI poses to millions of jobs and to national security.
He said in the address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington that principles should guide policymaking, including promoting democratic values and US innovation, addressing copyright and misinformation concerns, and ensuring national and economic security. Schumer’s framework came after months of discussions with industry leaders, academics and others.
Senators earlier this summer attended three briefings on AI to help initiate the effort. Schumer, a New York Democrat, hasn’t set a deadline for legislation, but has expressed an interest in bipartisan legislation this session of Congress. He’s said that the Chinese Community Party’s release in April of its own approach to regulating AI is a “wake-up call” for action in the US.
The feud between Musk and Zuckerberg attracted renewed attention this summer, first with reports of a possible cage match between them, then with the rise of Meta’s Threads, designed as a direct rival to X.
Musk, the world’s richest person, first challenged Zuckerberg to the fight in late June. The Meta chief responded by asking for the location to meet.
But on Aug. 6, Musk posted that he would receive an MRI of his neck and upper back. Then he said he had a problem with his shoulder blade that might require minor surgery. “Recovery will only take a few months,” Musk added.
On Aug. 11, Zuckerberg, a martial arts enthusiast, expressed skepticism that such an encounter would ever take place.
“If he ever agrees on an actual date, you’ll hear it from me. Until then, please assume anything he says has not been agreed on,” he wrote on Threads.