How the Loudest Voices in AI Went From 'Regulate Us' to 'Unleash Us'

On May 16, 2023, Sam Altman appeared before a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary. The title of the hearing was "Oversight of AI." The session was a lovefest, with both Altman and the senators celebrating what Altman called AI's "printing press moment"--and acknowledging that the US needed strong laws to avoid its pitfalls. "We think that regulatory intervention by governments will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful models," he said. The legislators hung on Altman's every word as he gushed about how smart laws could allow AI to flourish--but only within firm guidelines that both lawmakers and AI builders deemed vital at that moment.