Scale AI pushes Congress to take action on AI data, safety issues this year
One of the country’s leading generative AI startups is urging congressional leadership to take action on a trio of safety, data and definitional priorities for the emerging technology before the end of the year.
In a letter sent Thursday from Alexandr Wang to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the Scale AI founder and chief executive officer applauded the lawmakers for bipartisan AI regulatory work this Congress while “strongly” pressing the quartet to include in a potential year-end legislative package three “key AI priorities that will better position the United States to become a global leader in AI development and deployment.”
The first of Scale AI’s priorities is the authorization of the AI Safety Institute, which Wang called “a critical body to further the necessary measurement science gaps associated with AI research.” The AISI, housed within the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, should be “empowered to play a leading voice within” the existing network of overseas AI safety groups, the letter said.
“Authorizing the AI Safety Institute is necessary so that Congress can guide a long-term direction for the global network and perform oversight to ensure the Institute is meeting its intent,” Wang wrote.
The second priority involves the creation of AI-ready data requirements for every federal agency. Scale AI wants agencies to convert raw data to AI-ready data, a priority Wang called “crucial” because “AI outputs are only as good as the data that models are trained on, and low-quality data will lead to low-quality outputs.”
“Implementing this requirement will enhance the United States government’s ability to leverage AI technology effectively across all agencies,” he added.
Finally, Scale AI wants Congress to provide clear definitions of “developers” and “deployers,” leaving no doubt on the use of such terms for industry, academia and all levels of government working “within the AI ecosystem.”
“Based on activity at the state level, a patchwork of definitions has begun to emerge that threatens to stifle collaboration between key AI stakeholders,” Wang wrote. “Clear federal definitions would facilitate cooperation more smoothly among the players in the ecosystem, ultimately enabling industry to move forward more effectively.”
Wang’s letter, which was also sent to five of Congress’ top AI-focused lawmakers — Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and Jay Obernolte, R-Calif. — additionally calls for AI workforce training and the standing up of the National AI Research Resource, though those priorities would take a backseat to the aforementioned three.
Scale AI has taken an active role in regulatory conversations in Washington, signing on a little over a year ago to the White House’s voluntary commitments to support safe, secure and trustworthy development of artificial intelligence. The company has also seen its financial fortunes rise considerably over the past year, raising $1 billion in new funding and hitting a nearly $14 billion valuation.
