Week of March 11, 2024
Congress on Friday averted yet another government shutdown, sending six FY24 spending bills to the President’s desk for signature. Appropriators are now rushing to the next deadline, March 22, to fund the additional six bills that have yet to be released.
At the same time as Congress is working to wrap up FY24 appropriations, today is the official kick off to FY25 appropriations season as President Biden just released his budget. It includes significant funding for AI and emerging tech in order to support the President's EO on AI.
After a two-week hiatus, there is finally an AI hearing on the calendar for this week as the House Oversight Cyber Subcommittee takes on deepfakes. We are also tracking several national security hearings on worldwide threats and global security, as well as hearings on innovation and software.
What We’re Watching:
President Biden’s FY25 AI and Tech Budget Priorities: President Biden just released his Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget today to highlight his spending priorities leading up to the 2024 presidential election. While election prognostications are all over the place, Biden’s budget closely mirrors priorities outlined in his “Unity Agenda,” which he launched during last Thursday's State of the Union. The agenda includes a significant section on ensuring responsible AI development, and highlights the work of several agencies including NIST, NSF, DOE, as well as USPTO, on how they are carrying out the President’s EO on AI. Other priorities in the agenda highlight work needed to “hold big tech accountable” for online privacy protections and updates to Section 230 protections.
House Oversight Takes on Deepfakes…Again: The House Oversight Cyber Subcommittee will once again tackle the expansive topic of AI-generated deepfakes, this time in the context of child protections. The witness lineup includes officials from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the tech industry organization Netchoice, as well as a New Jersey high school parent, to provide perspective on how deepfakes are impacting children and women online. The first Oversight deepfakes hearing last November focused on advances in deepfake technology, serving as an educational hearing on the topic generally. Lawmakers are now getting more granular, and will explore ways to mitigate the harm done by non-consensual deepfake imagery.
National Security and Worldwide Threats in Focus: This week is shaping up to be a security-focused week on Capitol Hill, as several national security committees prepare to take on the 2024 Annual Threat Assessments to hear from a host of national security officials from FBI, CIA, NSA, State Department, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). These committees hold these hearings each year to provide a lay of the land on the most pressing threat concerns facing the U.S. While portions of these hearings are open to the public, these committees also meet in closed sessions to discuss classified information. Also on the security front, the House Armed Services Committee will be holding a hearing Wednesday to understand the need for software security in the face of rapid innovation. The hearing will primarily focus on the integral role of software in Department of Defense systems and best practices for acquisition and deployment in the face of the rapidly changing cyber threat landscape.
What’s Happening This Week:
Tech Hearings
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Worldwide threats - Monday, March 11 at 2:30pm
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Worldwide threats - Tuesday, March 12 at 10:00 AM ET
House Science Energy Subcommittee hearing on research - Tuesday, March 12 at 10:00 AM ET
House Oversight Cyber Subcommittee hearing on deepfakes - Tuesday, March 12 at 12:30 PM ET
House Armed Services Cyber Subcommittee hearing on software and innovation - Wednesday, March 13 at 9:00 AM ET
HFSC Digital Assets Subcommittee hearing on CFPB payment actions - Wednesday, March 13 at 9:00 AM ET
Tech Events
Washington Post Live - "Global Efforts to Build Guardrails Around Artificial Intelligence" - Tuesday, March 12 at 11:00 AM ET
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies Intellectual Property Practice Group - "AI Meets Copyright: Understanding New York Times v. OpenAI" - Tuesday, March 12 at 12:00 PM ET
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - "The Future of American Innovation” - Wednesday, March 13 at 12:00 PM ET
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation - "Exploring the New European Innovation Agenda" - Wednesday, March 13 at 1:00 PM ET
The Brookings Institution - "The Dangers Posed by AI and Disinformation During Elections" - Wednesday, March 12 at 2:00 PM ET
The Center for Strategic and International Studies - "The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Perspective on Artificial Intelligence Autonomy at the DOD" - Thursday, March 14 at 10:00 AM ET
What’s Interesting This Week:
Watch the Tapes!... On March 11, 1986, the NFL adopted a limited instant replay system. That system was dropped in 1992, and the current instant replay system was instituted in 1999. In effect, you could say the current system is an instant replay itself!
