{"id":28074,"date":"2023-01-06T00:40:44","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T00:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/06\/congressman-moonlighting-as-a-masters-degree-student-in-ai\/"},"modified":"2023-01-06T00:40:44","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T00:40:44","slug":"congressman-moonlighting-as-a-masters-degree-student-in-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/06\/congressman-moonlighting-as-a-masters-degree-student-in-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"Congressman Moonlighting As A Master\u2019s Degree Student In AI"},"content":{"rendered":"

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from the life-long-learning<\/i> dept<\/h3>\n

We\u2019ve spent years criticizing many politicians, especially in Congress, for trying to regulate technology that they don\u2019t seem to understand and often falling prey to wild moral panics about the technology. That\u2019s why it\u2019s quite refreshing to see this story that the Washington Post had in the waning days of 2022 about Rep. Don Beyer, who has represented a district in Northern Virginia since 2015, and whose hobby is\u2026 to be getting a masters degree in artificial intelligence from George Mason University.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s been the story of the year for Beyer\u2026 who has been moonlighting as a student at George Mason University in pursuit of a master\u2019s degree in machine learning while balancing his duties as a congressman. Beyer \u2014 a science wonk, economist and former car salesman \u2014 has been taking one class per semester in a slow but steady march toward the degree, with hopes of one day applying his artificial-intelligence knowledge to his legislative work as the technology evolves further.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a lot of fun,\u201d the72-year-old Beyer said \u2014 although, \u201cI was trying to think last night about the consequences. Number one is I read only two-thirds as many books this year. If I hit 53 I\u2019ll be lucky, just because the time that I used to read books, I\u2019m doing problems.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He does his homework usually sometime between 9 and 11 at night, after he gets home from the Hill and before he hits the lights. He attended a Zoom class each Thursday night with many 18-year-olds who kept their cameras off and who in breakout small-group work sessions did not seem to know (or care?) that their classmate is a U.S. congressman. The proctor administering an exam in his pre-calc class this spring leaned in and whispered, \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d as Beyer handed in his test.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As the article notes, Beyer has long been interested in technology, and its ability to analyze data, and he became interested in taking the class after visiting the university and learning about its \u201cinnovation initiative,\u201d and decided to sign up for the program.<\/p>\n

The article notes that another Congressman, Jay Obernolte, who sits across the political aisle from Beyer* but who also has an AI masters degree (and who also got a doctorate while serving in the California legislature) will serve with Beyer on the \u201cAI caucus\u201d in Congress. And having both working together on these issues as people actually knowledgeable about the technology seems like a step up from the way that tech policy is often made.<\/p>\n

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But as the power of artificial intelligence and its uses grow, Obernolte said it will be worth it to have another member at the table with all that fresh knowledge \u2014 particularly as the AI caucus seeks to steer Congress down responsible avenues for regulating the technology and use of personal data.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSome people who aren\u2019t familiar with AI think that the biggest drawback of AI is evil robots with red laser eyes. You know what I mean?\u201d Obernolte said. \u201cYou get closer to it and you realize that, no, there are actually drawbacks that are even more substantial than that, but they\u2019re also more subtle. So we want to make sure that we approach the regulation of AI in a way that\u2019s thoughtful, that does the protection of consumers and privacy that needs to be done, but also doesn\u2019t stifle the innovation and entrepreneurialism that has characterized the last 50 years of the technology industry in America.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Overall, I think this is great. I don\u2019t think everyone in Congress should be going back and getting graduate degrees, but two things I do think are super important are lifelong learning as well as having lawmakers who actually understand complex and nuanced issues and trade-offs as it relates to technology. So it\u2019s nice to see a story that actually shows an elected official who believes in that as well.<\/p>\n

* As a reminder, Techdirt does not name politicians\u2019 political parties unless its core to the story, because otherwise many people focus entirely on that and make their judgments based on team colors rather than what\u2019s actually happening.<\/em><\/p>\n

\nFiled Under: ai<\/a>, congress<\/a>, don beyer<\/a>, education<\/a>, life long learning<\/a>, masters degree<\/a>
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