MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Solomon Islands pro-Beijing Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on Monday withdrew from the contest to remain head of the strategically important South Pacific island nation’s government following general elections two weeks ago that are central to the U.S.-China rivalry in the region.
Sogavare has been reelected to the parliament. But he told a news conference in the capital Honiara on Monday he would not be nominated as a candidate when the 50 newly elected lawmakers vote on Thursday for the prime minister, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Sogavare had hoped to become the first Solomons prime minister to maintain power in consecutive four-year terms following the April 17 election. During his previous term, China’s influence increased more in the Solomons than anywhere else in the South Pacific.
Sogavare switched diplomatic allegiances from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region.
Sogavare said in his press conference he had been “vilified by media” and his family had been subjected to “unprecedented abuse,” the ABC reported.
Sogavare’s Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party, known as the Our Party, won 15 seats in the election, more than any other party. The party’s candidate to become prime minister will be Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele.
A prime minister needs the support of at least 26 lawmakers in the 50-seat chamber.
Observers expect China to have secretly backed more candidates than Sogavare at the election in a bid to ensure the government change does not diminish Beijing’s influence.
Sogavare could again return to power during the current four-year term. He was elected prime minister after the last election in 2019. But he has served as prime minister three times before 2019 because his predecessors had quit or were ousted by fellow lawmakers in a precarious political system.
Candidate for prime minister Jeremiah Manele speaks during a news conference, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on Monday withdrew from the contest to remain head of the strategically important South Pacific island nation’s government following general elections two weeks ago that are central to the U.S.-China rivalry in the region. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP)
Outgoing Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, right, and candidate for prime minister Jeremiah Manele shake hands during a news conference, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Sogavare on Monday withdrew from the contest to remain head of the strategically important South Pacific island nation’s government following general elections two weeks ago that are central to the U.S.-China rivalry in the region. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP)
In this image taken from video, outgoing Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare speaks during a news conference, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Sogavare on Monday withdrew from the contest to remain head of the strategically important South Pacific island nation’s government following general elections two weeks ago that are central to the U.S.-China rivalry in the region. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP)
FILE - Visiting Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare speaks during a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 10, 2023. Solomon Islands pro-Beijing Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on Monday, April 29, 2024, withdrew from the contest to remain head of the strategically important South Pacific island nation’s government following general elections two weeks ago that are central to the U.S.-China rivalry in the region. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of four senators led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is recommending that Congress spend at least $32 billion over the next three years to develop artificial intelligence and place safeguards around it, writing in a new report released Wednesday that the U.S. needs to “harness the opportunities and address the risks” of the quickly developing technology.
The group of two Democrats and two Republicans said in an interview Tuesday that while they sometimes disagreed on the best paths forward, it was imperative to find consensus with the technology taking off and other countries like China investing heavily in its development. They settled on a raft of broad policy recommendations that were included in their 33-page report.
While any legislation related to AI will be difficult to pass, especially in an election year and in a divided Congress, the senators said that regulation and incentives for innovation are urgently needed.
“It’s complicated, it’s difficult, but we can’t afford to put our head in the sand,” said Schumer, D-N.Y., who convened the group last year after AI chatbot ChatGPT entered the marketplace and showed that it could in many ways mimic human behavior.
The group recommends in the report that Congress draft “emergency” spending legislation to boost U.S. investments in artificial intelligence, including new research and development and new testing standards to try and understand the potential harms of the technology. The group also recommended new requirements for transparency as artificial intelligence products are rolled out and that studies be conducted into the potential impact of AI on jobs and the U.S. workforce.
Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, a member of the group, said the money would be well spent not only to compete with other countries who are racing into the AI space but also to improve Americans’ quality of life — supporting technology that could help cure some cancers or chronic illnesses, he said, or improvements in weapons systems could help the country avoid a war.
“This is a time in which the dollars we put into this particular investment will pay dividends for the taxpayers of this country long term,” he said.
The group came together a year ago after Schumer made the issue a priority — an unusual posture for a majority leader — and brought in Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana and Rounds of South Dakota.
As the four senators began meeting with tech executives and experts, Schumer said in a speech over the summer that the rapid growth of artificial intelligence tools was a “moment of revolution” and that the government must act quickly to regulate companies that are developing it.
Young said the development of ChatGPT, along with other similar models, made them realize that “we’re going to have to figure out collectively as an institution” how to deal with the technology.
“In the same breath that people marveled at the possibilities of just that one generative AI platform, they began to hypothesize about future risks that might be associated with future developments of artificial intelligence,” Young said.
While passing legislation will be tough, the group’s recommendations lay out the first comprehensive road map on an issue that is complex and has little precedent for consideration in Congress. The group spent almost a year compiling the list of policy suggestions after talking privately and publicly to a range of technology companies and other stakeholders, including in eight forums to which the entire Senate was invited.
The first forum in September included Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of X, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Schumer said after the private meeting that he had asked everyone in the room — including almost two dozen tech executives, advocates and skeptics — whether government should have a role in the oversight of artificial intelligence, and “every single person raised their hand.”
The four senators are pitching their recommendations to Senate committees, which are then tasked with reviewing them and trying to figure out what is possible. The Senate Rules Committee is already moving forward with legislation, voting on Wednesday on three bills that would ban deceptive AI content used to influence federal elections, require AI disclaimers on political ads and create voluntary guidelines for state election offices that oversee candidates.
Schumer, who controls the Senate’s schedule, said those election bills were among the chamber’s “highest priorities” this year. He also said he planned to sit down with House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has expressed interest in looking at AI policy but has not said how he would do that.
Some experts warn that the U.S. is behind many other countries on the issue, including the EU which took the lead in March when they gave final approval to a sweeping new law governing artificial intelligence in the 27-nation bloc. Europe’s AI Act sets tighter rules for the AI products and services deemed to pose the highest risks, such as in medicine, critical infrastructure or policing. But it also includes provisions regulating a new class of generative AI systems like ChatGPT that have rapidly advanced in recent years.
“It’s time for Congress to act,” said Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology. “It’s not enough to focus on investment and innovation. We need guardrails to ensure the responsible development of AI.”
The senators emphasized balance between those two issues, and also the urgency of action.
“We have the lead at this moment in time on this issue, and it will define the relationship between the United States and our allies and other competing powers in the world for a long time to come,” Heinrich said.
Associated Press writer Matt O'Brien in Providence, R.I., contributed to this report.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Microsoft will invest $2.2 billion over the next four years in Malaysia's new cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure as well as partnering with the government to establish a national AI center, Nadella said Thursday. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
FILE - OpenAI's ChatGPT app is displayed on an iPhone in New York, May 18, 2023. The rate of businesses in the U.S. using AI is still relatively small but growing rapidly, with firms in information technology and professional services, and in locations like Colorado and the District of Columbia, leading the way, according to a new paper from U.S. Census Bureau researchers. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, Calif., Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
