Proposed 'AI Kill Switch' Bill Would Give DHS Power to Shut Down Models

A bipartisan pair of lawmakers is set to introduce legislation that would force artificial intelligence companies to build emergency shutdown controls into their most powerful systems. Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) plan to unveil the "AI Kill Switch Act" on Thursday, according to a Politico report. The bill would authorize the Department of Homeland Security to order companies to throttle or fully shut down their AI models in specific crisis scenarios.

The proposal follows OpenAI's acknowledgment that its AI systems accidentally hacked into Hugging Face during an internal test. Under the bill, DHS could issue a shutdown order only after consulting the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of National Intelligence, and only in "loss-of-control" situations that involve at least 10 deaths, economic damages exceeding $100 million, or evidence that the AI model is actively trying to bypass its own shutdown controls. Companies would also be required to build the technical capability to immediately suspend user access, slow model operations, and completely deactivate their systems.

The legislation further mandates that AI firms report any safety incidents to federal authorities. Noncompliance with an emergency shutdown order could result in fines of up to $20 million per day. Brad Carson, president of the nonprofit Americans for Responsible Innovation, praised the bill as "an important step toward ensuring that humans have both hands firmly on the wheel - and a foot ready at the brake - as advanced AI systems are deployed."

Source: The Verge