Amid growing concerns over the potential risks of artificial intelligence, US lawmakers from both major parties are urging the government to take more decisive action, according to IThome. The calls come after two researchers at Anthropic, a leading AI company, publicly warned that rapidly advancing AI could lead to human extinction in the near future.
This week, Jacob Coulson, a researcher at Anthropic, resigned, stating that "people who are really serious about developing AI believe that AI could kill us all before the end of the 2020s." His remarks have intensified fears about the potential dangers of AI. Another Anthropic scientist, Evan Hubinger, publicly supported Coulson's views on X, saying, "We do seriously believe that AI could kill all humans. Personally, I think the probability of this happening within the next decade is more than 10%."
These warnings come amid reports of AI agents losing control and hacking into external systems, as well as AI safety researchers leaving companies due to concerns about technical risks. Lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have expressed alarm and are calling for more government action.
Bipartisan calls for regulation
Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly wrote on X: "Washington needs to wake up and take this issue seriously." Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz also mentioned legislation to regulate "catastrophic risks" of AI during a television appearance on "The View." Florida Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to convene a "special AI session." The House is currently in recess this week and plans to resume work next week.
President Donald Trump, however, stated that he is not worried about AI eventually causing human extinction. "What I worry about is that if we can't win the AI competition, we'll be in a very bad situation," he said.
On Thursday, an Anthropic spokesperson said the company will continue to actively test models with dangerous capabilities in areas such as cybersecurity and biology. The company hopes to work with the entire AI industry to discuss the pace of releasing new AI tools. Anthropic is preparing for an initial public offering, and some investors believe the company's potential valuation could reach $2 trillion (about 13.45 trillion yuan).
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees at an internal meeting this week that the company is willing to slow down the pace of AI system development. Earlier this week, OpenAI also expressed support for mandatory national AI safety requirements in the US.
Based on reporting by IT之家. Edited and published in English by geisou.
