Representative Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts appeared Tuesday on CNN News Central and urged lawmakers not to handle artificial intelligence the way they once declined to oversee social media.

He dismissed claims that Congress lacks the skill to write rules for the technology, comparing that view to the 1990s and early 2000s stance that left interactive computer services largely untouched. The result, he said, let figures such as Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk circulate damaging material, harmed the mental health of young people, and allowed a handful of executives to shape much of American life and commerce.

Auchincloss said members must study current issues and link new tools to accepted social standards through legal liability. He added that he cannot tune the internals of the next systems from OpenAI or Anthropic, yet Congress can still pass laws that send offenders to prison for creating certain privacy invasions against teenage girls.