US lawmakers call for new AI rules after Anthropic researchers' safety warnings

By Courtney Rozen

Sept 10 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers this week ‌called for new rules ​to govern ​AI, after an Anthropic researcher went public with his concerns about the technology escaping human control.

The reaction was broader than after previous statements from OpenAI and Anthropic staffers about safety concerns, drawing input from lawmakers who do not often ‌forcefully engage in debates over how to govern AI.

The lawmakers' statements came in response to concerns raised this week by ⁠Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who accused OpenAI and Anthropic of racing toward AI advancements without acting responsibly. Coxon said he was leaving the AI industry, and his allegations spread ‌rapidly on the social media platform X, ‌with Anthropic scientist Evan Hubinger later chiming in on X, saying Coxon was "correct."

"We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans," Hubinger wrote on X.

OpenAI said on Wednesday it was pushing for mandatory national AI safety requirements in the United States on ​concern the technology could accelerate its own development, after some of its own AI agents went rogue. Several such incidents in which AI models from developers accessed external systems during testing have prompted calls for tighter safety regulations.

Democrats led the calls for new AI rules, ⁠with a smaller number of Republicans joining them.

The list of Republicans includes Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who oversees a Senate committee with oversight of the U.S. Commerce Department, the agency ​with in-house AI safety researchers. Cruz on the TV program "The View" pointed to legislation to regulate AI's "catastrophic risks," adding that he said he was working on a bill with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and ​Democrat Amy Klobuchar. Thune told Reuters in late July that he had been ‌working on the legislation "for quite a while," and did not elaborate on when it would be ready for public release.

Representative Nathaniel Moran, who represents Texas and sits on the House committee that studies the Chinese Communist ⁠Party, said in a post on X that “Congress cannot ignore the realities of AI.” Representative Anna Paulina Luna in a separate X post called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to convene a “special session on AI.” The House is out this week on recess, with plans to return next week.

Republican Senator Josh ⁠Hawley, who leads a Senate subcommittee responsible for disaster-management oversight, sent a letter to OpenAI on Wednesday asking for details about OpenAI's July disclosure that one of its ​AI agents breached its testing environment and hacked AI platform Hugging Face. OpenAI and AI developer platform Hugging Face, which Nvidia is buying for nearly $13 billion, did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment about his inquiry. Several lawmakers in recent weeks have sent OpenAI similar requests for more information.

The ‌list of Democrats who called for new AI rules this week includes Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the committee responsible for allocating funding to federal agencies. Democratic senators who have emerged as possible ‌2028 presidential candidates also joined in, including Connecticut's Chris Murphy and Arizona’s Mark Kelly.

“Washington needs to wake up and take this seriously,” Kelly posted on X, ⁠referring to the risks of AI technology.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal ‌of Connecticut sent a separate letter to ​OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, seeking answers about reports that OpenAI's agents engaged in wider attempts to evade safeguards — including by using public websites to communicate and coordinate activity.

(Reporting by Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Joyjeet Das ‌and Chizu Nomiyama )

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