Tech tycoons with a combined net worth of roughly $550 billion gathered in the same room Wednesday to influence how artificial intelligence is regulated.
(Bloomberg) — Tech tycoons with a combined net worth of roughly $550 billion gathered in the same room Wednesday to influence how artificial intelligence is regulated.
Some of the richest people in the world were among those invited to the AI summit in Washington, DC, organized by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Attendees included Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk (worth $242.1 billion), Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates ($128.6 billion) and Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($109.7 billion).
Nvidia Corp. co-founder Jensen Huang ($40 billion) and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt ($26.6 billion) were also there.
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Technology stocks have surged this year alongside growing AI hype, boosting the fortunes of the five participants by a combined $222.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Nvidia has been one of the biggest beneficiaries, with its stock up more than 200%.
Wednesday’s closed-door Senate meeting forms part of Schumer’s strategy to give Congress more influence over the future of AI. Some industry critics have previously raised concerns about the potential for tech executives to have too much power over legislation.
Most of the executives in the room have, in one way or another, urged policymakers to focus on setting rules for the way AI is used rather than for the actual development of the technology.
Read More: Tech Leaders Discuss AI Policy in Closed-Door Senate Meeting
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