9.15 | Regulating in the dark

Mary Reichard (0:05)

Good morning. Pro-Iranian forces threaten another oil choke point, and a former US envoy warns of greater danger.

Tim Lenderking (0:12)

The worst thing that can happen to the Yemen government right now is losing territory.

Nick Eicher (0:17)

Also today, how fast is too fast for AI will talk with a former government tech expert and how some students make it to college without ever learning to read. Later, rethinking screens.

Melanie Hempe (0:30)

No parent has ever looked back and thought, I wish my kid had been on a screen more.

Nick Eicher (0:35)

And World commentator Bethel McGrew on a 9-11 hero, newly honored.

Mary Reichard (0:46)

It's Tuesday, September 15th. This is The World and Everything In It from listener-supported World Radio. I'm Mary Reichard.

Nick Eicher (0:53)

And I'm Nick Eicher. Good morning.

Mary Reichard (0:58)

Now news. Here's Kent Covington.

Kent Covington (1:00)

Debate is heating up in Washington over artificial intelligence. President Trump made his feelings clear on Monday about a potential industry slowdown. The CEO of AI powerhouse Anthropic, Dario Amode, had called for one in the weekend essay warning that AI agents could take over the Internet within a year. OpenAI's Sam Altman backed him, and so did Elon Musk.

Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark made the same case on Fox's special report.

Jack Clark (1:29)

The worst time to react to an exponential is when it's too late. So what we're saying here is we need to get a sensible common sense safety framework in place for the industry so that Americans can have confidence in the technology that we're building.

Kent Covington (1:43)

But the president criticized Amode and dismissed fears of rogue AI as a hoax. He also said there is a quote, a sick conspiracy against AI data centers, and added that a slowdown would only help China in the AI race.

Vice President JD. Vance yesterday offered a more measured take.

JD Vance (2:01)

We want to make sure that we actually regulate smartly and we're thoughtful about the risk here. So there are obviously risks to AI. There are some benefits to AI.

Kent Covington (2:11)

On Capitol Hill, Democrats say it's time for government to take the reins. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Chuck Schumer (2:17)

That means putting guardrails in to mitigate the risks of this technology and earn the public's trust, which is critical to American leadership.

Kent Covington (2:28)

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson says Congress does have a role but should not overstep.

Mike Johnson (2:34)

We've got to have meaningful regulation that does not smother American innovation. Now, how to solve that equation, no one knows yet. We're not going to rush in and pass a piece of legislation that would do harm to the country and put China as an edge.

Kent Covington (2:50)

We'll have more on this later in the program.

And a member of the president's cabinet is pointing to AI as one factor in loosening rules on power plants. The EPA has scrapped limits on greenhouse gases from coal and gas-fired power plants. The Biden-era rule would have made older plants capture their carbon dioxide or shut down. At a G20 energy meeting in Houston, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said with AI, electricity doesn't just become light and heat, it can now be turned into intelligence.

Doug Burgum (3:22)

More intelligence is good for the planet. More intelligence is going to transform every job, every company, every industry. It's going to transform government.

And the demand for demand for electricity is going to go up. And we have to continue to find ways to have reliable, affordable security to do that.

Kent Covington (3:38)

The agency argues that emissions are too small of a share of the global total to trigger the Clean Air Act. Environmental groups, though, disagree. They are suing, arguing that the agency is not doing its duty to limit pollution. Panic at the border between Ukraine and Poland.

Authorities say a Russian drone hit a passenger train just moments before NATO dignitaries passed through on Sunday. That audio there, courtesy of the Telegram channel PIVDN, according to Ukraine's state rail operator, a train carrying former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, among others, had just left the station. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters.

Mark Rutte (4:20)

The strike on a passenger train in Ukraine yesterday shows how desperate Putin has become. He thinks that he can stop us from supporting Ukraine and that he can undermine our unity.

He is wrong. Our answer is to increase support to Ukraine so it has what it needs to defend itself.

Kent Covington (4:41)

Additionally, Poland is pledging to increase its security along its border with Ukraine after the Polish Defense Minister said a Russian military-style drone was recovered from the Baltic Sea.