House considering bipartisan ‘kill switch’ bill to regulate AI

Congressional lawmakers seem like they’re ready to take artificial intelligence more seriously.  

In a rare show of bipartisanship, Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu and Republican Congressman Nathaniel Moran have introduced what’s being called the AI Kill Switch Act. The proposal would give the Department of Homeland Security the authority, under specific emergency circumstances, to order the nation’s largest AI companies to slow down completely or shut down powerful AI systems that pose a significant threat. It would also require those companies to report major AI safety incidents immediately and build the technical capability to suspend their own models if necessary.   

Now, before you get up in arms, I know the phrase “kill switch” immediately raises eyebrows. It sounds dystopian. It sounds like government overreach. But I think that framing misses the more important question. Why are lawmakers from both parties suddenly agreeing that something like this might be necessary?  

Part of the answer is what happened just a few days ago.  

OpenAI says that while testing one of its newest AI systems, the program found a way out of........

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