Denver — This week, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet made the case for establishing a federal task force to oversee the federal government’s use of artificial intelligence (AI). Last week, Bennet introduced the Assuring Safe, Secure, Ethical, and Stable Systems for AI (ASSESS AI) Act to review existing AI policies across the federal government and to make the U.S. government lead by example in the responsible use of AI. This legislation would establish a task force to generate specific regulatory and legislative recommendations that would ensure the federal government’s AI tools and policies respect civil rights, civil liberties, privacy, and due process.

He also discussed the need for an expert federal body to provide comprehensive, sector-specific regulation of digital platforms to protect consumers, promote competition, and defend the public interest. Bennet introduced the Digital Platform Commission Act last year to do so. 

In an interview for SiriusXM with Laura Coates, Bennet said: “We're beginning to see early stage use of AI in the federal government. And I think it's really important that as we roll it out in the federal government, that we understand that we're doing it in a way that's consistent with civil liberties, that's consistent with civil rights, that’s consistent with our right to privacy. That's not going to happen by accident.

“I think we also need an agency in Washington to negotiate on behalf of the American people with the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, not just about AI... but about social media itself and to ensure that we're protecting the mental health of our kids, we're protecting our national security, and our right to privacy, and Americans’ economic interest in their own data. That's something we haven't done yet.”

In an interview for Axios Q&A with Ashley Gold, Bennet said about his Digital Platform Commission Act: “[H]aving raised three daughters at the dawn of social media and having been a school superintendent and a member of the Intelligence Committee when our country was hacked by our adversaries, I have reached the conclusion that we need to have somebody here that can negotiate on behalf of the American people. 

“In my proposal, there would be a council of people from inside and outside the industry, experts who could deal with these questions in real time.”

In an interview on CNN This Morning with Poppy Harlow, Bennet said: “Understanding when AI is being used, making sure that in the federal government, when we’re using AI, that we’re using it in a way that’s consistent with our civil liberties, with our civil rights, and with our privacy rights – none of that stuff has been thought through. 

“You know, there is good and there’s bad that’s going to come from this but I think we should have a thoughtful approach, an approach that’s different than the way we’ve managed the social media stuff until this moment.”