Artificial Intelligence

The U.S. House is set to consider bipartisan legislation that would give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to order major artificial intelligence companies to shut down, suspend or slow advanced AI models that the federal government determines pose an unacceptable risk to public safety or national security.

Two members of Congress have introduced bipartisan legislation that would require developers of the most advanced artificial-intelligence systems to maintain the ability to slow down, suspend or shut down their models if they pose serious risks.

The AI Kill Switch Act would give the Homeland Security Department authority to order companies to take emergency action against AI systems that could cause catastrophic harm, in consultation with the Commerce secretary and the director of national intelligence.

US lawmakers want to give the government the ability to quickly order the turning off of artificial intelligence (AI) tools that may threaten the public.

Congressman Ted Lieu, a Democrat, and Congressman Nathaniel Moran, a Republican, on Thursday introduced a bill named the AI Kill Switch Act.

A bipartisan House bill slated to be introduced on Thursday would give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to order top artificial intelligence firms to shut down or slow AI models that the government deems too dangerous, according to legislative text viewed first by POLITICO.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) on Wednesday expressed concern about the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence.

“I am still freaked out by AI, and it’s actually accelerated much more quickly than I thought possible,” the fourth-ranking House Democrat told The Hill’s Miranda Nazzaro at the second-annual Hill Nation Summit.