On Thursday, October 9th, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held an impassioned hearing to assess AI’s Potential to Support Patients, Workers, Children, and Families and address any concerns. Chaired by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), panellists included: 

• Dr. Russ B. Altman: Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI 

• Mr. John Bailey: Senior Fellow for the American Enterprise Institute  

• Ms. Harriet Pearson: Managing Principal for Axia Advisory 

• Mr. Carlos Aramayo: President of UNITE HERE Local 26 

• Dr. Juliet Schor: Economist and Sociologist at Boston College 

Labor: How might AI impact American Jobs? 

Ranking member Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) began by noting that while the wealthiest billionaires are investing in AI, we don’t yet know how these investments will impact labor markets in the long run. Sen. Sanders argued that if America wants to rebuild its manufacturing industry, it cannot do so by replacing workers with robots, saying, “The minority committee estimates that AI, automation and robotics could displace 100 million jobs over the next 10 years, including 40% of registered nurses, 47% of truck drivers, 64% of accountants, 65% of teaching assistants and 89% of fast-food workers.” 

Liability: Who’s Responsible When Things Go Wrong?
The hearing took a grave tone when Senator Josh Hawley (R-AR) challenged what he called the “rosy” image of AI, noting the technology’s alleged role in goading teens battling suicidal thoughts, asking what safeguards could prevent this from happening again. Sen. Hawley asked, “Who is liable if a nurse practitioner performs malpractice while under the direction of AI?” Chairman Cassidy warned that clinicians may be hesitant to disagree with an AI-directed medical decision, even against their own judgement—particularly when it could open the clinician up to legal liability. Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL) echoed these points, asking all witnesses to answer, with a “yes or no,” whether an AI firm should face legal consequences if their product causes “harm, damage or even death.” Every witness agreed there should be legal consequences.  

Legislation: What Might Lawmakers Do to Help?
Chairman Cassidy also inquired about creating a modern version of the Sherman Antitrust Act to establish broad regulations that would help protect people. When Senator Moody asked for recommendations for regulating AI, both Dr. Altman and Mr. Bailey emphasized a principle-oriented approach; however, Dr. Altman cautioned that “anything you know about AI has an expiration date of three months.” 

AHPA extends our gratitude to our emerging colleague, Christina Luke, guest author of this article. 
Christina is a graduate student in the Master of Public Policy program at Duke University.