The Exchanges

Q So I've heard you say this a couple times that the CEOs may be downplaying the impact. Uh, I know they speak with you privately. Are they telling you things like saying, hey, Senator Warner, don't say this to other people, but here's what we think, or what, what brings you to that assessment?

A Well, what brings me is You know, the CEOs who are saying this in the AI space. And what I'm hearing privately from big brand name firms who are saying they're, they're cutting off or cutting in half the number of interns or first year hires. I even heard from a nationally known law firm that has decided to hire no first year associates. They're going to take a pause. And see how this works out before they even hire all these kids after they've done everything to get through law school and they got a job offer they thought with a big brand firm. And then it's just going away. Nothing they did. And because of AI and yeah, because AI and I hear, and I hear like so many companies that are midsize who say, you know, I had one guy the other day saying, you know, I had 23 people do this back office function. Now I got three. Isn't that amazing? And the thing is, we are not even collecting data on this yet. That's why I've got a, a bill with Josh Otley, very bipartisan, that says to BLS, Bureau of Labor Statistics, we need to start measuring this, um, and, and not just in terms of firms like a Jack Dorsey saying he's cutting 40% of his staff on, because of AI, and whether that's true or not, you know, we'll, we won't know for sure, but, you know, that kind, but also try to measure You know, jobs that would traditionally have been created, because my view is that this is going to parti…

AI assessment note: “what I'm hearing privately from big brand name firms who are saying they're”

Q that they're just, they're going to be places where they're just not going to be built because the opposition is so high? I saw there was an Axios report that said something like half of the data centers that are expected to be built this year are delayed. Now, some of that is part shortages, but I think community opposition is going to be a big, big part of it.

A Well, and the interesting thing too, and the, and, you know, rightfully some of the tech companies will say, well, you actually look at the, Electric rates for states that have done a lot of this. They've not seen a dramatic rise, but I think they have to do more than just say, hey, we're gonna cover your, no increase in, um, you know, utility and electric, electric rates. I think they gotta put that in statute. I think they gotta, you know, move more towards, you know, self-generation that is adjacent to the AI facility, so it doesn't go into the full, you know, into the full grid. And I think we have to document that. I think they have to do more on the water usage. I think they need to do a much better job on just visual screening. These are big, ugly buildings. Um, and, and.

AI assessment note: “move more towards, you know, self-generation that is adjacent to the AI facility”

Q Okay, so you're the Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Was or is the Pentagon making a AI-based surveillance program of Americans? That was one of the central contentions.

A I do not know the answer to that, and I should. This administration has not been forthcoming, and unless we have, unless we have bipartisan oversight, we're not going to get those answers, and, um, I think there have been concerns raised, and I, you know, and this is not just around the Intelligence Committee, it ought to be also the Armed Services Committee and others, and I think, um, I've had conversations with a lot of my Republican friends Think I'm making the case that this is a big deal, that we gotta know some of this. We can, might decide that that is the right choice. We may even decide, although I can't imagine this would be the case, that we're ready to move to AI weapons without a human in the loop, and it's easier to make the decision, for example, on an AI weapon without a human in the loop. On defense, you know, having a missile system that would fire based upon an incoming that's The adversary, you know, to protect an aircraft carrier makes, you know, there's an argument there without a human in the loop. You know, on the offensive side, it's, it's a much more challenging argument, but we ought to have those arguments rather than, you know, a single person in, in terms of Pete Hegseth making that determination.

AI assessment note: “I do not know the answer to that, and I should.”

Q one example that came through my timeline, uh, this week. It looks like Josh Gottenheimer, sorry, yeah, Josh Gottenheimer, who's on the House Intelligence Committee, uh, bought Exxon twice in early February. Now, who knows if that's necessarily connected to the fact that the Iran war was brewing, but it doesn't look great. Uh, why do you think it's been so difficult for the Congress to pass legislation around this?

A I can't answer that. I mean, I, I, I don't know. It seems like it's, it's, um, it should be a no-brainer. Um, You know, and I'm lucky enough that I was able to put all of my stuff in a blind trust, independent, I don't know anything I own, um, you know, and I think we've kind of completely gotten out of all trading, and I've moved from mostly stocks to, I think, mutual funds, but there are, you know, there, there are issues I've seen, like, um, you know, I was a venture capitalist for many years before I got into this stuff, you know, I've invested in companies that have, have, um, you know, took 10 to 15 years to go from startup to a public company, and then, you know, I have a policy that if something becomes public, we try to sell it, but that still shows up as, why is Warner selling this stock right now? I don't want to own the stock at this point, but, you know, it is, it is, uh, you, you, you, should you have to disgorge even before, you know, in a company that you had Long before you're in public service. There is some, there is some complexity, ah, to this stuff, and again, I've been very, very lucky. I've got the freedom that, that I was able to do very well in technology. You know, I'm gonna be fine regardless. Um, I don't want to chase people out from even going in public service because if they're kind of somewhere along their career and, you know, they, they were a…

AI assessment note: “There is some, there is some complexity, ah, to this stuff”

Q And so when you think about the way that your colleagues view this, uh, is it high priority, medium priority, or low priority for them?

A Wasn't this stuff is hard. I, I, you know, I, I, I joke, but it's kind of true. There is no real linear relationship between me spending more time on AI and actually thinking I have a better understanding. I get, you know, it, it, it is evolving so quickly. I think most members, you know, and this is a human reaction, if you don't get it, and it seems too complicated, you want to try to punt on that, and that, that allows for, you know, simple-minded solutions like, let's just shut it down, or let's just, you know, have a moratorium on all data centers for a year. That's not going to answer the question. Uh, so we, we, We do have to navigate it, and, you know, what small value I hope I can add is not turning this into a partisan issue and trying to find folks on both sides of the aisle that says, hey, we gotta grapple with this. China and the rest of the world is moving ahead. There is no way we can, we can reverse this, but we are not powerless, both to put guardrails in effect and also say in terms of the economic dislocation, you know, and my challenge to the AI community is, you guys are right, if government Defines us all. We'll probably screw it up. So you guys help us define what this transition looks like. Look at the training or reskilling, whatever tool we want to call it, but you also got to help pay for it because the costs of this are going to be amazing.

AI assessment note: “if you don't get it, and it seems too complicated, you want to try to punt”