Republican Representative Warns of Trouble as Lawmakers Dressed in ‘JCPenney Leisure Suits’ with ‘8-Track Tape Players’ Attempt to Regulate AI

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lawmakers responsible for AI regulation are being compared to individuals who still use outdated technology, which could pose challenges, according to a Republican lawmaker.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently took a small step towards establishing AI regulations by advancing the AI Accountability Act. This act calls for the government to study AI accountability and provide a report in 2025.

Representative Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, expressed concerns about regulation keeping up with AI innovation, stating, “Let a bunch of guys up here that are wearing JCPenney leisure suits that still have 8-track tape players in their ’72 Vegas start talking about technology, then you got some problems.”

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Representative Burchett added, “I don’t know that we need regulation. You want to stifle growth, you start putting laws on it.”

The Senate held a listening session on AI development, but many lawmakers agreed that Congress lacks sufficient understanding of AI to create regulations.

Connecticut Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal highlighted concerns about AI, stating, “AI enables, not only in effect, appropriation of creative products … but also impersonation, deepfakes, a lot of bad stuff. We need to invest in restraints and controls if there’s a danger of AI becoming autonomous.”

Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina discussed the difficulty of regulating AI due to its fast advancements. She stated, “It’s very difficult to regulate because you don’t know what the next thing is going to be.”

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Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science that replicates human intelligence, has shown significant progress recently. China and the European Union have drafted AI regulations, but Congress has yet to pass any legislation in response to the rapid development of this technology.

Mace emphasized the importance of avoiding overregulation, stating, “If you overregulate, like the government often does, you stifle innovation. And if we just stop AI, nothing is stopping China. We want to make sure that we are the number one in AI technology in the world and that it remains that way.”

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Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, expressed concerns about the benefits of AI for everyday Americans, questioning, “Will it be good, though, for the American people, for American workers?”

According to an analysis by Goldman Sachs published in March, AI advancements could potentially automate up to 300 million jobs globally. A study by the McKinsey Global Institute also suggests that by 2030, up to 30% of working hours across the U.S. economy could become automated, leading to around 12 million occupational transitions. The study found that lower-wage workers are more likely to require occupational changes, with women being 1.5 times more likely to lose their jobs due to AI developments.