“I don’t worry about being replaced because humanity is going to be collaborating with AI. Let’s remember that AI exists inside of human ingenuity.”
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.), member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, was a featured guest speaker at The Washington Post Live event “Building America: Powering the AI Age” this week.
Senator Budd sat down with Dan Merica, co-anchor of the Post’s “Early Brief” flagship political newsletter, where he discussed a range of topics related to the future of artificial intelligence (AI). See excerpts below:
Building an AI-Ready Workforce
“I’m a small business owner, and I remember looking at the monthly financial statements, sharing them with the team … and you can see the look of panic on their eyes. And then they thought, well, is this the end of their job? Because now there are comments on the financial statements from one of the AI tools. And I was like, no, no, no. We’re going to do more with this team, rather than the same work with less people. So, I think we need to realize this is an opportunity, and more of an opportunity than a threat.”
“This goes back to my PELL Act in the Working Families Tax Cut. For American workers, the new skill is that of change and switching. Rather than massive job displacement, people can find new jobs by retooling and reskilling quickly.”
“The PELL Act allows Pell money for quick credentialing. [Businesses] may need somebody who just needs an eight-week course to get retooled and reconfigured for the workforce. [This] gives them the tools and flexibility that they need.”
Competing with China
“We cannot afford to be behind in AI.”
“[China] is working at three to four times the population of the U.S. So, they will be adding more [power to their grid]. … We need to add about 85 gigawatts per year in order to keep pace with our demand.
Creating More Energy
“Power is good. If we’re going to compete as a country, we need more energy. We’re going to run out. … If you’re going to produce energy, you want to do it here in the US, because we produce half the amount of pollution per unit of economic output than China would.”
“It goes back to a conversation I had with Sam Altman… [where he] made the point that an electron, is an electron, is an electron. And if we are so constrained and protective and don’t build energy, it not only holds back AI, but also holds back manufacturing. It holds back technology. It holds back all sorts of production. I think that’s our main constraint right now when it comes to moving forward. So, if we have more energy, I believe we’ll be safer, more secure, and more resilient.”
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