Tesla CEO Elon Musk called on Wednesday for a U.S. "referee" for artificial intelligence (AI) after he, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and other tech CEOs met with lawmakers at Capitol Hill to discuss AI regulation.

Lawmakers are seeking ways to mitigate dangers of the emerging technology, which has boomed in investment and consumer popularity since the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot.

Musk, who also owns the social media platform X, said there was need for a regulator to ensure the safe use of AI.

"It's important for us to have a referee," Musk told reporters, adding that a regulator would "ensure that companies take actions that are safe and in the interest of the general public."

Zuckerberg said Congress "should engage with AI to support innovation and safeguards. This is an emerging technology, there are important equities to balance here, and the government is ultimately responsible for that." He added it was "better that the standard is set by American companies that can work with our government to shape these models on important issues."

Other attendees included Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and AFL-CIO labor federation President Liz Shuler.

More than 60 senators took part. Lawmakers said there was universal agreement about the need for government regulation of AI.

"We are beginning to really deal with one of the most significant issues facing the next generation and we got a great start on it today," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who organized the forum, told reporters after the meetings. 

"We have a long way to go," he said.