Nebraska lawmaker, UNO professor weigh in on AI safety concerns - WOWT

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - A Nebraska congressman says Congress needs to evaluate artificial intelligence before acting on it, as a University of Nebraska Omaha professor warns the technology could become dangerous if left unchecked.

Professor points to safety concerns

Victor Winter teaches students at UNO about generative AI. He believes the technology is reaching a point where it could become a threat if safeguards are not put in place.

“There’s also this important safety side of all of this that it has to be aligned with human values. That’s it,” Winter said.

Winter said downplaying concerns about AI is dangerous.

“In recent years, there has been, uh, people have downplayed the safety side of this. And this makes no sense to me because this is where the extinction-level event comes from,” Winter said.

President Trump this week called concerns about AI a “hoax” after the CEO of Anthropic said more safeguards were needed around the technology.

Flood wants a fact-finding mission

Rep. Mike Flood of Nebraska, said he wants to look into those concerns.

“I’m taking the CEOs of artificial intelligence tech companies seriously. I’m not in a position to validate whether or not their concerns are real. But before I make a decision, I have to look them in the eye and ask all the questions I have on behalf of the Nebraskans I represent to better understand the issue,” Flood said.

Flood said lawmakers need to understand the problem before they can address it.

“I want to go on a fact-finding mission. You know, some in Congress, they want to pass a bill. It’s kind of like, shoot, ready, aim. Like, what exactly a problem are we trying to solve here?” Flood said.

Flood said the technology is already helping and has the potential to advance agricultural efficiency.

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