Democrats urge Johnson to keep House in session over AI safeguards

A group of House lawmakers is urging Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to immediately reconvene the House and keep Congress in session until lawmakers pass safeguards for advanced artificial intelligence.A letter, drafted by Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) and co-signed by Reps. George Whitesides (D-CA) and Lori Trahan (D-MA), was circulating among lawmakers Friday, according to Axios. The lawmakers are calling on Johnson to bring the House back “immediately” to address what they describe as potential catastrophic risks posed by advanced AI.“We write to urge you to immediately reconvene the House of Representatives to enable Congress to take urgent action to address catastrophic risk posed by advanced artificial intelligence,” the letter says. The lawmakers cite risks including “agentic misalignment,” mass cybersecurity breaches, and the development of biological or chemical weapons.“Reasonable minds may disagree about precisely how Congress should regulate this rapidly evolving technology,” the letter says. “We cannot disagree about the imperative for Congress to act.”The House is scheduled to return Monday and remain in session for roughly another week before departing for a lengthy recess until just after the November midterm elections. Johnson has not indicated that the House will take up comprehensive AI legislation before Election Day, but he is planning a vote on legislation related to preventing data centers from increasing energy prices.Several bipartisan AI proposals are already before Congress. The AI Kill Switch Act, introduced by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), would require developers of certain advanced AI systems to maintain the technical ability to throttle, suspend, or shut down their systems. The bill would also give the Department of Homeland Security authority to order such action in response to systems capable of causing catastrophic harm.Trahan and Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) have also introduced the bipartisan FRONTIER Act, which would establish a national, risk-based framework for the development and deployment of advanced AI models.“Whether with these proposals or any other variants, AI experts and leading companies agree that the United States can lead the world in artificial intelligence while establishing reasonable safeguards that protect Americans and our national security,” the letter says.The push comes as concerns over AI safety have become a flashpoint among both lawmakers and technology companies.OpenAI on Wednesday called for mandatory national AI safety requirements, saying voluntary commitments are insufficient and urging Congress to establish capability-based rules for advanced AI systems. HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HE ‘MAY HAVE TO’ RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2028 AFTER EARLIER DISMISSALJacob Coxon, an Anthropic researcher, resigned this week, saying he was concerned about the direction of AI development and the race among leading companies to build autonomous and self-improving systems.At the same time, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has separately called for sweeping AI restrictions, introducing legislation aimed at banning the development of artificial superintelligence, citing concerns that future systems could operate beyond human control.