Massachusetts Congresswoman Lori Trahan responded by pushing for the bipartisan Frontier Act to regulate frontier labs.
Anthropic Resignations Ignite Warnings of Self-Improving Superintelligence
The push for stricter oversight intensified following public warnings from two researchers at artificial intelligence company Anthropic. Jacob Coxon quit his job, writing on social media Tuesday that the company is racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.
Evan Hubinger, also an Anthropic researcher, added his own warning shortly thereafter. Jacob is correct here, he wrote on the social media platform X. We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans!
Congresswoman Lori Trahan and Capitol Hill React to the Whistleblower Alarm
Massachusetts Congresswoman Lori Trahan, who co-authored a bipartisan bill that would create a new framework for regulating AI development, joined WBUR’s Morning Edition to share how Coxon’s and Hubinger’s comments are resonating on Capitol Hill.
“I think that when the people building this technology are the ones sounding the alarm, we must listen. Today, the only thing we have in place is the honor system. The most powerful technology in human history is being regulated by its developers…”
Lori Trahan, Massachusetts Congresswoman
Reflecting on whether she agrees that AI could threaten all human life within the next decade, Trahan added, “Right now, we don’t know. We are relying on whistleblowers and people on the inside who are developing this technology to tell us where it’s going, rather than calling in these companies and these developers to get more information and to put guardrails in place.”
I think there are a lot of folks who think that this is fear-mongering, or that is something that is just too extreme. But I have to tell you, my phone hasn't stopped ringing since Jacob Coxon blew the whistle. I think my colleagues are scared. They're hearing from their constituents who want us to act. And this has been building since I started working on this issue this spring. This week has just hit a tipping point. Discussing
And I have to say, it's not just Democrats. MAGA Republicans called for bipartisan action yesterday. The ground has really shifted, because I think people don't know what they don't know, and they're fearful that we're not going to act in time. Trahan
The Frontier Act and the Push for a Government Pause Button
“At a basic level, we need to put guardrails on the frontier labs. These are the handful of companies whose models could actually cause a catastrophe.”
From Instagram — related to anthropic researchers warnings prompt, Frontier Act
Lori Trahan, Massachusetts Congresswoman
That's why I put pen to paper on the Frontier Act, because it creates rules of the road: mandated transparency, incident reporting, independent verification and a government pause button if a model poses an imminent risk of catastrophe. Those are table stakes while we figure out the policy around all the other sectors that AI will touch in our society. To address
As lawmakers weigh these proposed guardrails against a backdrop of constituent concern and insider warnings, the legislative focus remains squarely on establishing basic safety standards before advanced models outpace public policy.
What to make of alarming AI warnings from researchers tied to Anthropic
