“Innovation is the lifeblood of the American economy.”
Washington, D.C. — In his opening statement at today’s Senate Subcommittee on Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness hearing, Chairman Ted Budd (R-N.C.) discussed the potential to maximize the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver a higher quality workforce, healthcare, industry, and productivity for Americans.
Watch the full hearing HERE.
Below are Senator Budd’s opening remarks as prepared for delivery and several of his questions for the witnesses:
“Thank you, Ranking Member Baldwin, Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Cantwell, and our witnesses for working to put this important hearing together.
“Artificial Intelligence will undoubtedly usher in significant improvements in quality of life for the American people. It will make many workplaces safer and more productive, helping to increase output, raise wages, and grow the economy. It will enhance manufacturing capabilities, especially those of critical importance to our economic and national security, such as semiconductors and those in the defense industrial base. It will make it easier to reshore manufacturing through human-enhancing automation and digital twinning simulation.
“Smart systems and devices have the potential to revolutionize healthcare, improving early detection of diseases such as cancer and helping people with disabilities live better lives, not by replacing doctors, but by augmenting their diagnostic and treatment capabilities. AI-enabled research, aided by self-driving cloud labs, could massively reduce barriers to the discovery of new drugs. AI’s potential in the healthcare industry presents unique opportunities to save and improve lives.
“I have also noted that, as I travel the state, some North Carolinians share concerns about the growth of AI and automated or autonomous technology. There is a natural hesitancy toward technology that may disrupt incumbent industries or systems. It is normal to worry about the impacts of advancement on your job, your children, and your community.
“But, if we have learned anything from our history, it is that innovation is the lifeblood of the American economy. Our nation’s story has been shaped by technological advancements that have time and again expanded prosperity and improved outcomes. I believe that AI, deployed in numerous ingenious ways, can help people be better versions of themselves in their daily lives. For those of us in this room, it is our job to listen to those concerns and work together, in a bipartisan fashion, to address potential harms so that our nation can reap the tremendous benefits AI can offer.
“As I have said before, winning the AI race against China is paramount for our national and economic security. The administration is leaning in and providing important leadership. Ongoing work to first identify and then aid in the export of the American AI stack, from hardware down to software, will help ensure that global AI diffusion and standards are anchored in American values. The Genesis mission will build upon America’s scientific dominance by networking together world-class labs, computing power, and data sets to turbocharge scientific discovery.
“The diffusion of AI into the economy will be a critical dimension in this race. According to one report, AI is the most rapidly adopted general-purpose technology in history, with three in five U.S. adults surveyed having used AI less than three years after its release. However, other studies have found that U.S. businesses can lag their Asian and even European peers in enterprise adoption of AI tools.
“I am concerned that China, given its top-down, command-and-control structure, deep and sophisticated manufacturing industry, and open-source-heavy AI ecosystem, is in a prime position to diffuse AI quickly and broadly.
“Achieving a manufacturing renaissance in America is as bipartisan and deeply held a goal as any in Congress. Given demographic realities such as an ageing skilled workforce and stalled population growth, we will need to diffuse and scale smart technologies and processes to make more critical goods domestically. I am excited to discuss many of these technologies and systems today.
“Our witnesses are at the front lines and the cutting edge of making our economy and our daily lives smarter. I look forward to hearing from them about what excites them, what concerns them, and the roadblocks we in Congress can address.”
Sen. Budd Raises the Importance of Expanding Access to Quality Data for Healthcare Solutions
Sen. Budd: “It has been said that the four main inputs of AI are talent, compute, energy, and data. The federal government houses a tremendous amount of scientific and important data sets that could be leveraged as a strategic asset in U.S. AI leadership.
“… Would each of your companies’ efforts to deploy AI be aided by greater access to open government data in a format which is AI-ready and compatible?”
Mr. Giannikopoulos: “The access to data is a critical aspect of development for artificial intelligence. So having more robust access to … ideally in healthcare outcomes-linked data, will provide opportunities to actually assess these solutions, not in a vacuum, but against Real American data as part of that.
Sen. Budd: “In the world of radiology, what would a specific data set be that you would look to make more accessible?”
Mr. Giannikopoulos: “[In] radiology, there are two key areas. It’s the images and the reports. The reports and radiology are one piece of siloed information. … If a quiet lung mass, … [is] identified, what percentage of that turns into cancer? How do you understand the progression of that? Being able to access that longitudinal information, at scale, would enable significant development.”
Sen. Budd Highlights AI in the Workforce and Deployment of Robotics
Sen. Budd: “[How would] your company’s efforts to deploy AI … be affected by more access to data – if it’s AI-ready, and machine-readable and compatible?”
Dr. Shelton: “The government release of data is actually helpful a couple of ways. First, it gives us a very broad look at the economy as a whole. … And second is, I think it gives us a broad representative look at what people are doing. That’s part of the reason why I cited the census data. The government has a very large role to play here, identifying areas where there are opportunities for robots to get out and do useful work.”
Sen. Budd: “There’s a general fear out there about job replacement. It’s sort of a generalized concern, but if you show massive areas of underemployment in a sector such as warehouse and logistics, where there’s need for much more workers, do you think that would help with adoption in those areas?”
Dr. Shelton: “We see a lot of pressure from the small and medium business community that would love to adopt this kind of technology. … I think the broader look at the labor pressures that are faced by those businesses, in particular, would be super helpful.”
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