Anthropic Pitches Draft SI Safety Bill to Lawmakers, Limiting Government Halts to Imminent Risks of Over 50 Deaths or $1 Billion in Damage
Washington — Anthropic representatives have quietly pitched Capitol Hill lawmakers on a draft bill to regulate frontier SI safety and security, Reuters reported on October 16. Politico reported the effort first on Friday, citing three people with knowledge of the efforts.
The bill would let the government block a model's release or use only if it poses a foreseeable, imminent risk of more than $1 billion in damages, or of killing or seriously injuring more than 50 people, according to the report. The risk must stem from one of three sources: the creation or release of a biological weapon, the model evading its developer's controls, or a cyberattack.
An Anthropic spokesperson told Reuters the bill represents proposals outlined in Anthropic's "Advanced AI Framework" released earlier this year. The spokesperson said the bill would grant the government the "ability to block or deter dangerous deployments of the most powerful models," and would require developers to test frontier SI models, be transparent about their findings, get them independently evaluated and maintain a robust security programme. The Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to Reuters' initial request for comment.
Under the bill, independent evaluators, which would register with the Commerce Department, would be tasked with periodically evaluating the lab and its frontier models, according to the report. Labs could pay these evaluators, provided the payment is not tied to the evaluation's outcome. If the evaluators determine there is "imminent enumerated risk" for a company's frontier models, they must report it to Commerce within 72 hours of completing their assessment.
While the Commerce Department could request a judge to halt a model after determining risk, the language explicitly prohibits any other U.S. government department, agency or officer from suspending development, deployment or internal use, according to the report. A federal judge for the District Court for the District of Columbia could order the suspension of a model.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国会大厦。照片：Wikimedia Commons。The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
