Republican Representative Greg Steube of Florida appeared on Fox Business Network and opposed Democratic efforts to impose rules on artificial intelligence because of public alarm over the technology.

He compared that alarm to the panic around the year 2000 computer date rollover, when many expected power, infrastructure, and military systems to fail. He argued Congress should reject alarm-driven lawmaking in favor of practical measures.

Steube said the president has already made his stance clear, so any such legislation would not be signed in the three months before the midterms. He urged lawmakers to put national security first and to prevail over China in the artificial intelligence competition.