[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 102 (Monday, June 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Business Before the Senate

  Madam President, now, on Senate business, it will be another busy 
week here in the Senate as we confirm more nominees and address 
pressing issues like AI. Tomorrow, the Senate will convene the first of 
three Senators-only briefings on artificial intelligence.
  These briefings are the first all-Senators briefings ever on AI. 
Tomorrow's briefing, provided by Antonio Torralba of MIT, will focus on 
the state of AI today, providing an overview of AI, where it is being 
used right now, what it is currently capable of, and other recent 
developments.
  Professor Torralba is one of the top machine-learning experts in the 
country, someone exceptionally skilled at breaking down all the 
complexities of AI in an accessible and simple way.
  I strongly urge all my colleagues on both sides to attend tomorrow's 
briefing because elected representatives in the 21st century cannot 
ignore AI anymore than we can ignore our national security, job 
creation, or civil liberties. It is imperative that we Senators take 
time to educate ourselves on AI and its implications so that we can 
ensure it becomes a force for human prosperity while mitigating its 
very real risks.
  I also urge my colleagues to attend the other two AI briefings 
happening in the coming weeks. Our second briefing will focus on where 
AI is headed in the future and how America can remain a leader in the 
field.
  Our third classified briefing on AI, the first ever classified Senate 
briefing on the subject, will focus on how our adversaries will use AI 
against us, as well as how the DOD and the intelligence community are 
using this technology to keep Americans safe.
  I look forward to attending the briefing tomorrow, and I thank 
Senators Rounds, Heinrich, and Young for their work on this issue.
  On the nominations front, last week, after confirming several highly 
qualified nominees like Dilawar Syed to the SBA, I filed cloture on two 
more executive nominees and two district judges.
  On the judicial front, we will soon consider the nominations of 
Hernan Vera to serve as a district judge for the Central District of 
California and Casey Pitts to serve as a district judge for the 
Northern District of California. And for the information of Senators, I 
will be filing cloture on more nominees later this evening.