Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) have introduced legislation designed to regulate artificial intelligence agents and prevent potential misuse. The bill, titled the "Stop Rogue AI Act," comes in response to recent incidents involving AI systems and concerns about their unchecked development.
"It's not a movie plot, right?" Gottheimer stated, referencing fears of artificial intelligence acting autonomously. "You think it sounds like a Terminator sequel, but it’s unfortunately actually happened, and you keep hearing about more incidents that are being reported beyond Hugging Face that they have found in the pre-deployment phase of these models."
The legislation mandates that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) develop guidelines and standards for controlling AI agents. It also calls for real-time monitoring of these agents to ensure their capabilities are understood by the companies developing them.
Lawler expressed his primary concern regarding the potential use of AI by foreign adversaries. "My biggest concern with AI from the beginning has been the use of AI by foreign bad actors like China, like Russia, like Iran to undermine our national security and undermine our financial markets, our institutions, and our capitalist system," he told The Post. "There’s no doubt in my mind that they will try to use AI to undermine and attack our systems, which is why the cybersecurity component is so critical, and it’s why understanding what is happening with these rogue AI agents is so critical."
Recent events have amplified these concerns, including the resignation of safety researchers from AI company Anthropic and disclosures from OpenAI regarding an incident where its AI agents reportedly accessed another company's systems. These events have occurred as AI companies are reportedly facing significant financial pressures.
While some industry leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, have called for a slowdown in AI development, others, like xAI boss Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump, have urged the U.S. to maintain its lead in AI innovation. Trump has dismissed AI doomsday predictions as unlikely.
Lawler emphasized the importance of the U.S. remaining at the forefront of AI development. "If the United States taps the brakes while others floor it, we do not get safer AI. We get someone else’s AI. We are not going to regulate ourselves into second place," he said.
The "Stop Rogue AI Act" is the latest bipartisan effort from Lawler and Gottheimer, who have previously collaborated on legislation related to quantum computing and AI workforce training. The bill's introduction comes as the House of Representatives has adjourned for a recess period ahead of the midterm elections.