February 7, 2024
Navigating the Future of AI
The House Republican Policy Committee continues to be forward-thinking and innovative. To proactively address our future with AI the Committee convened to hear from industry experts and determine what opportunity awaits the Commonwealth through the further utilization of AI technologies. With great potential comes inherent risk, and the Committee investigated what legislative actions may be needed to ensure safe, transparent, and productive AI integration into our lives.
To show the growing potential of AI programs available to the general public the following report on the day’s hearing has been nearly entirely crafted through the assistance of a free AI language program, ChatGPT. A prompt was input directing ChatGPT to construct this report, and information gleaned from the hearing by a Committee Research Analyst was then input which ChatGPT organized into the report you see below.
The testifiers that joined the Policy Committee were as follows:
ChatGPT, Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, OpenAI
Questions for Chat GPT
Charles Palmer, Associate Professor and Program Lead of Interactive Media, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
Margaret Durkin, Executive Director – Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic Region, TechNet
Madison Gooch, Vice President of watsonx, IBM
Questions for Testifiers
ChatGPT Prompt:
I will provide you with the necessary details to craft a "writeup" of a PA House Republican Policy Committee hearing to be viewed by members of the public that were unable to watch the hearing live. The hearing was titled "Navigating the Future of AI". The hearing took place on 2/7/24 and was hosted by Policy Committee Chairman Joshua D. Kail at the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. The writeup should provide information from each testifier in the order they presented. Reference the testifiers credentials and the organization they are testifying for and explain why their perspective is important for the day’s hearing. Use all the points I provide to construct your writeup. Not everything needs to be in paragraph form, as some of the materials present better as bullet points. The writeup should focus on the opportunity AI and AI technologies offer for Pennsylvania, along with the potential risks and consequences that may need to be addressed through proactive legislation. Begin with a general opening paragraph explaining the importance of the day’s hearing, and close with a paragraph that references what the Policy Committee learned and the insights that were made during the hearing. I will provide you with the necessary details to craft this write-up when you tell me you are ready to receive them.
Following this prompt ChatGPT was supplied with key elements of the testimony provided by the day’s testifiers. It utilized these key points to construct the paragraphs below.
Navigating the Future of AI: A Recap of the PA House Republican Policy Committee Hearing
The Pennsylvania House Republican Policy Committee convened on February 7, 2024, at the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, exploring the crucial topic of "Navigating the Future of AI." Chaired by Representative Joshua D. Kail, the hearing aimed to shed light on the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence (AI) for the state of Pennsylvania.
Opening Perspective: ChatGPT on AI's Current State and Limitations
ChatGPT, a leading language model developed by OpenAI, emphasized the vast capabilities and recent advances in AI technology. Notably, it highlighted the increasing accessibility of AI tools, particularly in Natural Language Processing, revolutionizing human-machine interactions. The model clarified its reliance on existing data up to 2022, underlining the importance of ethical and regulatory frameworks to guide responsible AI development. Acknowledging its inability to predict future events, ChatGPT stressed the implementation of ethical guardrails to prevent misuse.
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| “In Pennsylvania, there is an opportunity to leverage AI for economic growth, job creation, and enhanced public services.” |
ChatGPT
Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer, OpenAI
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Insights from Testifier 1: Charles Palmer, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
Charles Palmer, Associate Professor and Program Lead of Interactive Media at Harrisburg University, provided a comprehensive overview of AI capabilities and challenges. With a focus on transparency, he emphasized the need for clear origins and training data to ensure responsible use. Palmer highlighted the potential of AI to augment educational processes, debunking the notion of direct teacher replacement. Additionally, he showcased the success of ChatGPT-4 in standardized tests and the achievements of Midjourney AI, an art generative tool, winning a contest for emerging artists in 2022.
“Let us commit to harnessing the potential of generative AI responsibly, ethically, and inclusively.”
Charles Palmer
Associate Professor and Program Lead of Interactive Media, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology |
Insights from Testifier 2: Margaret Durkin, TechNet
Margaret Durkin, Executive Director of TechNet, emphasized the preference for a federal AI regulatory framework over state-specific laws. She urged alignment with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) risk management framework, proposing comprehensive data privacy laws at the state level. Durkin cautioned against private right of action, emphasizing enforcement by the Attorney General. Her testimony highlighted the importance of involving AI stakeholders in educational institutions to foster positive AI integration into society.
“We want state lawmakers to rely on established national frameworks.”
Margaret Durkin
Executive Director – PA and the Mid-Atlantic Region, TechNet |
Insights from Testifier 3: Madison Gooch, IBM
Madison Gooch, Vice President of wastonx at IBM, projected AI's potential to enhance human productivity and unlock significant economic value. Advocating for smart regulations, Gooch suggested focusing on regulating AI usage, not the algorithms themselves. She emphasized accountability for AI creators and deployers, proposing regulations that address the specific context of AI development and deployment. Gooch also underscored the importance of supporting open AI innovation, cautioning against an AI licensing regime that could hinder competition and innovation.
“We urge policymakers to enact smart regulations NOW.”
Madison Gooch
Vice President of watsonx, IBM |
Closing Reflections: Charting the Course Forward for Pennsylvania
The Policy Committee gained valuable insights into the transformative potential of AI in Pennsylvania. Testifiers highlighted the need for transparency, ethical frameworks, and smart regulations to harness the opportunities presented by AI while mitigating potential risks. The call for a federal regulatory framework, involvement of stakeholders in education, and support for open AI innovation emerged as key takeaways. As Pennsylvania navigates the future of AI, the Committee faces the challenge of crafting legislation that encourages innovation while safeguarding against unintended consequences, ensuring a responsible and prosperous AI future for the state.
As can be seen above, the report constructed by ChatGPT is thorough, easy to read, and nearly indistinguishable from a human writer. The initial prompt was closely followed, but the final product did not make use of bullet points or include comments on the testifier’s credentials as instructed. At this time, the product of ChatGPT is impressive, but further prompting would be required in this instance to have the AI complete the report entirely as requested. For the crafting of comprehensive reports ChatGPT is certainly a useful drafting tool but should not be relied upon entirely. Furthermore, it is important to double check the information provided by an AI program as accuracy of information is not ensured.
Made clear by both the day’s testimony and the capabilities of AI language models, the Commonwealth must proactively address the coming prevalence and capabilities of AI technologies in our future. The current capabilities of AI are immense, and will find significant utilization within Pennsylvania agriculture, business, industry, education, and more. The hearing shed light on what actions the legislation may pursue and showed the immense potential for AI in the Commonwealth’s future.