Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® today participated in U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s most recent policy forum on Artificial Intelligence (AI), telling policymakers that AI “holds the key to solving our most pressing societal challenges…” while adding that “AI also presents unique challenges and risks, including concerns about privacy, liability, and societal impact. Government and the private sector must work as partners to address these challenges and unlock innovation.
“CTA takes a comprehensive approach to AI that includes engaging in public policy, developing consensus standards, such as managing bias in AI, and producing market research to understand trends and public perceptions around AI,” Shapiro said. “We appreciate Senate Majority Leader Schumer for inviting us to participate in today’s forum, and we look forward to continuing our bipartisan work with policymakers on Capitol Hill and in the Administration.”
Wednesday’s forum centered on privacy and liability issues surrounding the deployment of AI technology – two issues on which CTA has long focused.
“Data, privacy, and AI are intertwined,” Shapiro pointed out in his written statement. “As we refine the considerations around rules and guardrails for AI at the national level, we must ensure a national approach to protecting consumer privacy.”
CTA has long signaled the importance of the United States to lead the world on AI innovation and on a balanced approach to AI policy that doesn’t stifle that innovation. In September, the organization announced its comprehensive approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI), including generative AI. CTA’s strategy focuses across three key areas: public policy, market research and industry standards.
This includes a National AI Policy Framework, which contributes to the evolving dialogue about appropriate guardrails for AI technology and supports a measured and balanced approach to rules. It also includes new research, Decoding Consumer Sentiment and Outlook on Artificial Intelligence, which reports on Americans’ feelings about AI technology and policy. Finally, CTA in September also published a new standard that identifies best practices and recommendations for bias management solutions in data used to train AI and Machine Learning (ML) systems in healthcare.
“The United States has been the indisputable global leader in transformative innovations in the internet age,” Shapiro concluded. “The mantle of global leadership now hinges on whether we lead on generative AI. We are hopeful that industry and government can work together on a broad range of policies around AI. That collaboration will put the United States and our citizens in the best possible position to lead in and benefit from the dividends of generative AI and other AI tools that emerge in the years to come.”
View Shapiro’s full written statement here.