Barrett Urges Secretary Rubio, UN Ambassador Waltz to Work on International AI Agreement

Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Tom Barrett (MI-07) wrote a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, encouraging them to collaborate with other nations to develop an international agreement to set guardrails on artificial intelligence (AI).

Barrett's letter comes the day after the United Nations concluded its High-level Week at the beginning of the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly. Barrett asked the foreign policy officials to tackle risks from AI in light of warnings from AI researchers earlier this month.

"It is my strong belief, as the General Assembly begins its intensive working period, that conversations surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) should include robust efforts for plans and collaboration towards an international agreement," Barrett wrote. "While there has been productive dialogue between industry and world leaders about the future of AI, it is imperative for the United States to chart the path forward."

He continued, "The 81st Session of the UN General Assembly is uniquely positioned to begin these conversations with other countries. This should not only happen with our allies, but our adversaries as well. While we may have disagreements, we should all work towards the common goal of ensuring this technology is properly regulated for the common good and safety of all countries. These exchanges should include ideas for an international AI treaty, incident report sharing, risk management techniques, and human control over offensive and nuclear weapons. Beginning these discussions will ensure we are all prepared.

"This next frontier in emerging technology has the ability to propel this world into a golden age or send us into collapse. I respectfully request that you both work to create regular and consistent multilateral dialogue on AI moving forward. It is critical that we begin these talks before it is too late."

Background

Barrett has been a leader on increasing accountability and transparency for artificial intelligence and data centers. In addition to his call for international collaboration, Barrett has introduced or co-sponsored the following bills in Congress:

• The Human Authority over Autonomous Weapons Act (H.R. 9729) to ensure that no autonomous or artificial intelligence-enabled weapon system used by the United States military can carry out an intentionally lethal strike without meaningful human oversight or a human decision-maker in the loop.
• The Children Harmed by AI Technology (CHAT) Act (H.R. 7218)to require AI chatbots to implement age verification measures to protect minors. The bill requires parental consent for minors using chatbots, bans chatbots from engaging in sexually explicit communications with minors, and requires chatbots to notify a minor's parent if the minor's chat shows signs of suicidal ideation.
• The AI Threat Output and Monitoring Incident Containment Act (H.R. 9965) to test advanced AI systems to prevent risks to nuclear safety.
• The Doctors Not AI Act (H.R. 10210), introduced by Barrett and Landsman, to ensure that artificial intelligence cannot make or dictate health insurance coverage decisions involving medical judgment.
• The VA Claims AI Accountability Act (H.R. 10418) to require VA employees - not AI - to make the final decisions for approval of disability claims or benefits. The bill also strengthens oversight and accountability for the VA's digital benefits system.
• The VA AI Transparency Act (H.R. 10417) to require the VA to disclose to every veteran any use of AI by the VA, including in claims processing and customer service chats.
• The Protecting Local Control of Data Centers Act (H.R. 10119) to prohibit federal agencies from overriding local land-use, zoning, siting, or permitting authority related to data centers.
• The No Data Center NDAs Act (H.R. 10118) to prohibit members of Congress from signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) about data centers, including any information about possible locations or how much water or energy a facility is expected to consume.
• The No Secrets for Data Centers Act (H.R. 10570) to prohibit and invalidate NDAs signed by federal, state, and local government officials to conceal details of data center projects. The bill would also prohibit data center operators from receiving government incentives if the conditions include entering an agreement to keep information about the project confidential.

CLICK HERE to read the full letter.