Texas Congressman Lance Gooden warns of 'very scary' consequences if AI overcomes American society

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Rep. Lance Gooden calls Artificial Intelligence 'very scary,' urges action 'before it's too late'

Republican Rep. Lance Gooden is concerned that AI could eventually replace human decision-making in government and other critical areas of society.

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, says that Americans could "get to the point where someday we're all very afraid" of artificial intelligence after more than a thousand business leaders penned an open letter urging new AI developments to be put on pause for six months. 

"This is something that is going to sneak up on us, and we'll get to the point where we're in too deep to really make meaningful changes before it's too late," Gooden tells Fox News Digital. 

In November 2022, Microsoft unveiled ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot that engages in human-like dialogue and can generate responses, analyze data and text — potentially threatening careers in a wide range of industries, from customer service, tech and media jobs. 

"I am worried about being pulled over and questioned by a robot someday. I don't want to live in a society where a task of government that should be fulfilled by real life people are being replaced with AI," said Gooden. "That's very scary to me, and I think we need to be very cautious."

AI EXPERTS WEIGH DANGERS, BENEFITS OF CHATGPT ON HUMANS, JOBS AND INFORMATION: ‘DYSTOPIAN WORLD’

Photo of what the ChatGPT home screen is supposed to look like. (CyberGuy.com)

After Microsoft’s success with GPT-4, the technology used to power ChatGPT and the Bing search engine, Google and Meta have ramped up their own AI projects — with Google looking to use AI in the Google search engine. 

"I think there's this arms race, for lack of a better term, with respect to A.I."

— Lance Gooden (R-Tx.)

"I don't want the Chinese to be developing the next turn of the century model that's going to change our lives," said Gooden. "But I want to make sure that we all are on the same page as Americans, as a society, and that we are very cautious with what we get behind."

Concerns over a potential threat from exponential AI development range from those like Elon Musk, who argue for a pause in development to ensure the technology will benefit and not harm society, to some who view the burgeoning technology as an existential threat to human life.

Eliezer Yudkowsky, a decision theorist at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, wrote in a column for Time that many who are watching AI "expect that the most likely result of building a superhumanly smart AI, under anything remotely like the current circumstances, is that literally everyone on Earth will die." 

The Biden administration has begun to take some action on regulating AI. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) argues it can regulate AI technology to prevent unfair business practices. The FTC warns that it can penalize those who "make, sell, or use a tool that is effectively designed to deceive – even if that’s not its intended or sole purpose."

However, a bipartisan coalition appears to be forming to confront the threat of AI. Rep. Ted Lieu. D-Ca., warned lawmakers in January that Congress needs to get educated on artificial intelligence and undertake meaningful regulation. 

(Photographer: Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"I think there's a lack of understanding. I'm personally not an expert. I don't believe the American people wake up every day worrying about AI, but I worry that someday we'll get to that point," Gooden said.

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The House Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee is expected to have hearings to better understand the technology and its threats to the U.S.