Creating a domestic warrant requirement for the FBI’s foreign intelligence surveillance authority would “paralyze” efforts to thwart “fast-moving threats” abroad, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Exports to China
U.S. technology is “more important than ever” to national security, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Saturday at the Reagan Defense Forum in California. Raimondo was the first Commerce secretary to address the conference, but said she won’t be the last. The U.S. is serious about blocking China and its military from buying computer chips with advanced AI capabilities, she added.
The U.S. delegation to the World Radiocommunication Conference in Dubai has been quiet two weeks into the long-awaited conference. Steve Lang, the State Department official who replaced now-Commissioner Anna Gomez as delegation head, will not hold a news conference until after the WRC concludes Dec. 15, a spokesperson confirmed.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is “genuinely a hero,” ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Tuesday while discussing Altman’s recent ouster and reinstatement at the company (see 2311170065).
Concerns about a “doom” scenario from AI and risks from generative AI are overstated, Adam Thierer, senior fellow-technology and innovation team at the R Street Institute, said during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday. “Things have gotten really out of control, and we’re being led around by a lot of people who have Terminatoresque fantasies floating through their heads,” Thierer said. Other speakers said AI poses potential risks but could have widespread benefits. The discussion comes as policymakers explore controls (see 2311150054), with the FCC looking at the technology's benefits and threats (see 2311150042).
Despite warnings that China's BeiDou global navigation satellite system (GNSS) is eclipsing GPS capabilities, a U.S. response isn't expected. The BeiDou ascendency comes as China is also seen making big strides in commercial positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) satellites.
The World Radiocommunication Conference opened in Dubai Monday, with remarks by ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, who insisted global cooperation will benefit the many unserved and make the most of increasingly congested spectrum. The ITU said about 4,000 delegates and others are expected to attend the WRC, which runs through Dec. 15. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Anna Gomez are among those attending the start of the conference this week.
With the World Radiocommunication Conference starting Monday in Dubai, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and former Chairman Ajit Pai questioned how well the U.S. is positioned to score wins. They spoke during an American Enterprise Institute webinar Friday. Pai was chairman during the previous WRC four years ago.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai should reconsider her decision to “abandon important bipartisan digital trade proposals at the World Trade Organization,” Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., wrote the USTR on Thursday (see 2311080043). DelBene and LaHood signed the letter with 36 other members of Congress, including Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.; Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.; and Adrian Smith, R-Neb. USTR didn’t properly consult Congress before abandoning the digital trade provisions, they said. They raised concerns about China’s Digital Silk Road Initiative, which “permits censorship, surveillance, human and worker rights abuses, forced technology transfers, and data flow restrictions. The “void created” by USTR’s decision will “harm American workers, companies, security, and innovation, while benefitting our largest competitors in the digital space,” they said. USTR didn’t comment.
Broadband items drew some lawmakers’ attention Wednesday night and Thursday as Capitol Hill fully shifted into the week-plus Thanksgiving recess. A trio of non-Commerce Committee-affiliated senators weighed into the debate over expanding the USF contribution base, while leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees sided along party lines on the FCC’s 3-2 Wednesday vote to adopt rules aimed at curbing digital discrimination (see 2311150040). President Joe Biden, meanwhile, is set to sign off before Friday night on a continuing resolution to fund the FCC, FTC, NTIA and other Commerce Department agencies at FY 2023 levels through Feb. 2 (HR-6363) after the Senate joined the House Wednesday night in passing the measure.