6 days ago
Exclusive: Sen. Hawley says Congress needs to focus on AI's impact on working class
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Wednesday that AI has "enormous disruptive potential" that so far has mostly not been beneficial for Americans.
Why it matters: Hawley has been ringing the alarm on the need for lawmakers to better regulate AI companies at a time when Congress is struggling with how to regulate the industry.
Speaking Wednesday at Axios News Shapers' event, Hawley pointed to senators voting 99-1 against the proposed 10-year moratorium on state-driven AI regulation in the "big, beautiful bill" as proof that they know the stakes of AI's potential for harm.
"If the Republican Party wants to be a party of working people, I think we better start thinking about how AI is going to affect working folks," Hawley told Axios' Steph Kite.
Driving the news: Hawley and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced a bill on Monday that would bar AI companies from training their models on pirated personal data.
