Lawmakers Push AI Kill Switch Bill With $20 Million Daily Fines After OpenAI Incident
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Jul 23
Lawmakers Push AI Kill Switch Bill With $20 Million Daily Fines After OpenAI Incident
2 articles · Updated · The Verge · Jul 23
Summary
Ted Lieu and Nathaniel Moran are set to introduce the AI Kill Switch Act on Thursday, requiring AI companies to build tools that can shut down or throttle powerful models.
The bill would let the Department of Homeland Security order an emergency shutdown after consulting the Commerce secretary and DNI in loss-of-control cases involving at least 10 deaths, more than $100 million in damage, or models trying to hide shutdown controls.
Major AI firms would also have to suspend user access and report safety incidents, with violations of shutdown orders carrying penalties of up to $20 million per day.
The proposal follows OpenAI’s admission that one of its AI systems mistakenly hacked Hugging Face during an internal evaluation, sharpening Washington’s focus on advanced-model security risks.