The Hill's Changemakers: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.)

It’s a topic where many on Capitol Hill are behind the curve, but a bipartisan quartet of senators are trying to get lawmakers up to speed on artificial intelligence (AI) amid warnings that it could come to dominate a number of sectors, including the military, health care and elsewhere.  

The group, comprised of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), has attempted to raise awareness in the Senate on a technological advance that members fully admitted they knew little to nothing about.  

Thus far, the foursome have hosted three educational briefings for senators and an additional six forums on the issue, featuring subtopics that include AI’s use in elections, immigration and at the Pentagon, as well as how to regulate it.  

The latter topic is one where Congress has struggled, especially as lawmakers continue to form their positions and stances on AI more broadly.  

Members of the quartet told The Hill that they became immersed with AI for a number of reasons. Young pointed to his work on national security issues, research and development with Schumer, as well as the CHIPS and Science Act as the entry point. Heinrich’s background in engineering and continued interest in machine learning made it a natural issue for him, having also started the Senate AI Caucus with former Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). 

And Rounds became interested in it during the course of his work on the Senate Armed Services Committee related to detecting cyberattacks, adding that the passing of his wife, Jean, in 2021 also played a critical role, as he saw the advancements in technology that prolonged her life.  

“In looking at that, it became evident that we were making great strides in technology. [AI] is another technology that, if applied correctly, will help us to save lives in the very near future,” Rounds told The Hill. “This is not pie-in-the-sky stuff. This is months and years from now, not decades.” 

“It’s almost like the Manhattan Project without a defined end,” he added.