The resignation of Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon on September 9 triggered an active legislative push in the U.S. Congress. Coxon stated that Anthropic and OpenAI are gambling with human lives, drawing the attention of more than 20 lawmakers. Most of them called for the adoption of new AI legislation.
Senator Bernie Sanders announced his intention to introduce a bill banning superintelligence and halting AI development. Together with Representative Greg Casar, he previously proposed the "Ban on Artificial Superintelligence Act," which would permanently prohibit the development and deployment of superintelligent AI and pause the development of advanced systems until a federal regulator establishes safety standards. Casar called the situation an emergency and demanded congressional hearings.
Representative Lori Trahan highlighted her bipartisan FRONTIER Act, introduced in July together with Representative Jay Obernolte. The act establishes tiered requirements based on the size of companies developing advanced AI solutions, including model standards, risk management systems, independent audits, incident reporting, and ongoing assessments. It also creates a unified national standard for transparency, auditing, and reporting on catastrophic risks.
Senator Chris Van Hollen is pushing for mandatory safeguards and urgent negotiations with China. Representative Ted Lieu urged Republican leadership to advance an AI kill switch bill he introduced this year. Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna broke with her party's position and demanded a special session of Congress on AI issues.
According to a survey, 70% of Americans say artificial intelligence causes them more concern than excitement.