Ranking Member Larsen Statement from Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence in Transportation
Washington, D.C.—The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) during today’s roundtable titled, “Artificial Intelligence in Transportation.”
More information on the hearing can be found here.
Ranking Member Larsen:
Thank you, Chairman Graves, for holding this roundtable on artificial intelligence in transportation.
The roundtable is an opportunity for Members to learn about the state of AI in transportation—how AI is already being used, what we can expect to see in the future, and how technology reliant on machine learning will impact public safety, jobs and the movement of goods.
Ensuring the safety of our transportation infrastructure is a fundamental mission of this Committee, and this roundtable is just the first of many discussions as we explore the policy guardrails needed as the use of AI expands.
Tens of thousands of projects are underway across the country thanks to investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Artificial intelligence is impacting the development and delivery of transportation projects. We will hear today from Mr. Mangon, from Autodesk, how AI tools can streamline workflows, promote creative solutions in project design and predict potential problems earlier.
Greater efficiency means more road, bridge, transit, and rail improvements completed on time and on budget.
The safety and efficiency benefits of AI are not a given. People and goods move across this country through dynamic, interconnected networks—often at high speeds.
AI can only generate widespread and equitable mobility improvements if the right data and assumptions underpin the system. Large, transportation-specific data sets will need to be built, and AI algorithms will need to be trained to be free from bias.
I will note on the issue of jobs, I have long said that greater federal investment means more construction, engineering and transportation jobs across the country.
As we heard in a hearing earlier this year, building and maintaining a sufficient pool of skilled workers to tackle the project opportunities provided in the BIL is a top focus for the transportation industry right now.
AI stands to have a significant impact on this workforce. Preparing workers to adapt to this rapidly-evolving transformation—and ensuring that transportation investment continues to provide jobs with good wages, benefits, and working conditions—is a top priority.
I look forward to hearing Mr. Colvin’s views on how Congress can support transportation workers as AI advances.
I thank each of our panelists for being here today.
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