Elon Musk told Eamon Javers and other reporters that the meeting “may go down in history as one of the most important for civilization.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hosted a panel of tech executives, labor and civil rights leaders as part of the Senate’s inaugural “AI Insight Forum.” In addition to organizing the event, Senators Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Todd Young, R-Ind., have worked with Schumer on other AI-education sessions. According to Schumer, more than 60 senators attended the closed-door panel. Due to the time and format restrictions of a public hearing, Schumer said the closed forum allowed for an open discussion among attendees. However, Schumer said some future forums would be open to the public. Afterwards, Shuler told reporters that the meeting was a unique opportunity to bring together a wide range of viewpoints.

In response to a question about getting to speak with Musk, Shuler said, “I think it was just an opportunity to be in each other’s space, but we don’t often cross paths, so to bring a worker’s voice and perspective into the room with tech executives, with advocates, with lawmakers is an unusual thing to do.”