{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/hickenlooper-calls-for-congressional-action-hearings-on-ai-regulation/", "Hickenlooper Calls for Congressional Action, Hearings on AI Regulation", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CO", "John W. Hickenlooper", "H000273", "www.hickenlooper.senate.gov", "hickenlooper", "https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press/page/", "scraper", "\u201cWe\u2019re entering a new and dangerous era of artificial intelligence, and we need stronger guardrails to protect against the risks\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper called on the Senate Commerce Committee to act on responsible AI regulation and begin holding hearings with leaders from across the AI industry on responsible regulation.\n\nIn a new video today, Hickenlooper outlined his thoughts on the need for more AI regulation, including independent audits of AI systems, stronger safeguards for high-risk AI, and real accountability when these tools cause harm. As data centers continue popping up across the state, Hickenlooper stressed the importance of community involvement, protecting our precious water resources, and ensuring ratepayers aren\u2019t subsidizing these facilities, especially as energy prices soar.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re entering a new and dangerous era of artificial intelligence, and we need stronger guardrails to protect against the risks,\u201d Hickenlooper said in a video published on social media. \u201cThe Senate Commerce Committee needs to hold hearings with leaders from across the AI industry on responsible regulation. But we can\u2019t stop there. Smart guardrails on AI will be the difference between this technology benefitting all Americans or just the companies developing it. To do that, we can\u2019t allow the fox to guard the henhouse! Congress needs to act now.\u201d\n\nWatch his full video HERE\n\nHickenlooper has introduced legislation to responsibly regulate AI, including the VET AI Act, that would create a pathway for independent evaluators, with a function similar to those in the financial industry and other sectors, to work with companies as a neutral third-party to verify their development, testing, and use of AI is in compliance with established guardrails.\n\nThis week, OpenAI publicly backed third-party verification following the news that Anthropic would give independent third-party evaluators \u201cemployee-like access\u201d to their models.\n\nYesterday, Hickenlooper spoke on the Senate floor about the anxiety Coloradans are feeling about AI and data centers. \u201cEven as your energy bills are spiking. Even as you\u2019re worried your job could be the one that gets cut next. Even as you worry your farm is already facing a water shortage in many parts of this country\u2026. billionaires have turned AI into a horse race focused solely on who is winning, with too little thought for who gets left behind,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, even some of the biggest names in AI are warning that we\u2019re moving too fast. I think the question is: Do we listen? Will we listen? Will we act?\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-18T09:27:43Z", "2026-09-18T09:29:09Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/hickenlooper-calls-for-congressional-action-hearings-on-ai-regulation/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.859021907672286, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}