Sen. Tommy Tuberville says ChatGPT has become a regular companion during lengthy drives across Alabama, with the Republican senator using the AI chatbot to discuss topics including Medicare and Medicaid while listening to its spoken responses from behind the wheel.

Tuberville, who is seeking the Alabama governorship, told The Washington Post that he turns to ChatGPT during long car trips to ask questions and learn more about complicated policy matters.

“It’s kind of like you can sit there and talk to an expert,” Tuberville said. “You don’t know whether or not they’re 100 percent correct. But they put you on the right path.”

Tuberville is far from the only member of Congress making use of artificial intelligence. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has advocated imposing a tax related to AI, said she has used ChatGPT to research demographic information.

Both chambers of Congress have moved over the past year to permit lawmakers and congressional staff to use certain approved AI chatbots for official work. Among the platforms authorized are Copilot, ChatGPT and Gemini, while the House has also permitted use of Claude.

An analysis by CNBC of House spending records found that ChatGPT remains the most widely purchased paid AI tool in the chamber. The analysis also found that spending on the technology by Democratic offices was three times higher than spending by Republicans.

Some lawmakers have taken a relatively permissive approach toward how their staffs employ generative AI. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), for example, downplayed controversy after a member of her staff inserted an answer generated by Claude into the public record associated with the National Defense Authorization Act.

“A lot of staff will use ChatGPT, Claude, Grok. I personally like Grok better, but my staffer prefers Claude. I’m not gonna knock him for that. There’s nothing illegal about him doing a summary,” she stated.

The Congressional Research Service has also examined how artificial intelligence could be used by Congress and federal agencies, identifying possible applications “including for office tasks such as creating and summarizing content, writing speeches, and drafting bills.”

At the same time, the Congressional Research Service has cautioned that generative AI carries significant potential drawbacks, including “confabulation or hallucination,” which “might lead to the tools generating and amplifying misinformation or being used to create and spread disinformation.”

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) has taken a more structured approach, working with her staff to establish rules and training governing the use of artificial intelligence. Her office has been instructed to employ the technology only to “enhance and streamline” its work.

“We didn’t want to prohibit the use of the newest tools,” Slotkin said. “But we also didn’t want absolute schlock showing up in my memos.”

{Matzav.com}