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2026-09-16 08:24:08
[AI Safety Warnings Spark Legislative Frenzy, But Congress Lacking Time and Deeply Divided, Passage Unlikely This Year] (1) Following a researcher's warning about AI technology that went viral, lawmakers from both parties have put forward a large number of proposals to try to prevent the potential negative impacts of AI, while President Trump has doubled down on his lenient stance on AI regulation. (2) With less than two months left on the legislative schedule, the chances of the AI safety bill passing both houses and being signed by the president at the last minute are almost zero. (3) Senator Rick Scott (Republican of Florida) told The Hill on Tuesday, "Do you think we (Congress) are capable of regulating AI? We can't even pass a budget, do you think we can come up with a great AI bill?" He added, "We won't pass a smart AI bill in three weeks, or this year." (4) Dozens of bills regulating the safety elements of AI have been introduced in the past 18 months, but most remain stalled due to conflicting priorities among parties on AI and the data centers that power it. (5) These policy debates resurfaced this week after 27-year-old AI researcher Jacob Coxon gained attention for claiming that AI labs believe the technology "could kill humans," yet are still racing toward superintelligence regardless. (6) One of the last-minute proposals came from Republican Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana), which would require AI companies to embed so-called "kill switches" in their models as a safety measure, allowing them to pause or shut down certain models. (7) Other lawmakers, such as Senator Ruben Gallego (Democrat of Arizona), suggested creating a new committee to "restrain" AI, but industry experts believe this would only further delay an already seemingly daunting task.
