The Scoop
Congress isn’t back to Washington yet, but some lawmakers were jolted awake by a round of dire AI warnings from a resigning Anthropic researcher who said “people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” Sources who spoke to Semafor said an in-the-works AI safety bill from Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Majority Leader John Thune is the only viable option to stand a chance before 2027 — and that it may be introduced as early as next week. Klobuchar told Semafor in a statement that she is working on a bipartisan agreement on “legislation for commonsense guardrails to address the risks posed by AI systems … it’s clear we need to act now and not wait.” Cruz posted on X that he’s “working with” Klobuchar and Thune “on legislation to address catastrophic risks involving biological or nuclear threats.” AI frontier labs and public advocacy groups are already giving Hill staffers feedback on the draft text, which hasn’t been publicly released.
Know More
Despite the behind-the-scenes consensus growing behind the bipartisan Senate bill, progressives are laying down their markers for a more stringent approach.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is planning to soon introduce a bill banning superintelligence and pausing AI development. He also plans to convene experts for a bipartisan briefing next week following recent AI security incidents. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., posted his own five-step plan to “urgently address the potential harms of AI” on X, calling for certification of new models, liability and criminal penalties for companies, and the creation of a new federal agency.
OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane wrote in a Wednesday blog post that the company wants to work with Congress on national AI safety regulation due to “a new chapter in AI capabilities,” citing its own models and research.
“We need to meet this moment with a bias toward meaningful action over policy perfection,” Lehane wrote, adding that several “serious” AI frontier safety proposals are circulating in Congress and it needs to act before it adjourns. “The AI policy window is open, for now. We intend to use it.”
Notable
- Sanders’ briefing plans were first reported by Axios.