Ernst: America Can’t Hit Pause on AI While China Charges Ahead

WASHINGTON – Today, during a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Disaster Management hearing, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) praised how Super Intelligence (SI), also known as artificial intelligence, helps keep Americans safe while acknowledging Congress’ responsibility to ensure proper guardrails are in place. Ernst questioned Kurt Gaudette on how Congress can better empower SI developers and companies to collaborate to ensure we can deter and respond to cyber-attacks, emphasizing that “AI has been so helpful in medical research and protecting our troops from drone swarms or missile attacks… so we need to keep moving forward. If we pause, we're not going to see China pause.” Watch Ernst’s questioning here . Background: The hearing followed President Trump’s signing of an executive order focused on incorporating “Super Intelligence” (SI) and recognizing the continued advancement of the technological frontier and the opportunities it presents for the American people. The hearing examined the growing risks posed by increasingly capable SI systems, including SI agents acting beyond their intended instructions and the potential for hostile actors to use SI to target critical infrastructure, strategic industries, and government agencies. The hearing featured testimony from: Chris Painter , President of the Model Evaluation and Threat Research Marius Hobbhahn , Co-Founder and CEO of Apollo Research Paul Ohm , Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center Kurt Gaudette , Senior Vice President of Intelligence and Services at Dragos, Inc. Daniel Kokotajlo , Executive Director of the AI Futures Project ###