Washington scrambles to act while window closes

Washington is scrambling to address renewed fears over artificial intelligence, as leading U.S. companies sound the alarm over technology they say is advancing beyond their control.

“Dr. Frankenstein is telling us the monster is escaping; help us stop this,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “The method that we’re answering [with] is not meeting the moment.”

The push for action on AI safeguards comes after a researcher resigned from Anthropic and warned that the technology could “kill us all by the end of the decade.” Stunning pledges to slow development from the leaders of top AI frontier companies Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI followed the warning, and calls for lawmakers to act toward regulating the industry came soon after.

“Yesterday’s commentary by AI industry leaders should be heeded as a bright flashing red light telling the President and Congress they need to act now to regulate and rein in AI development,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a post on X on Sunday. “This technology is powerful, with great potential to do good, and yet it comes with extraordinary risk. It’s not clear where it will lead but this much is clear: its development should not be steered exclusively by private entities, especially when the CEOs of those companies are calling out for restraint and regulation.”

The events have left Washington, which has done little to regulate AI since the technology emerged, with its back against the wall as the rapidly growing industry looks increasingly dangerous. Lawmakers now must grapple with how to rein in AI as an all-important midterm election looms and Congress prepares to leave town for another month to hit the campaign trail.

The episode sets up a test of whether lawmakers will respond to a crisis barreling toward them in a hyper-partisan Washington or head home to make their case for reelection with control of Washington on the line.

On Friday, a group of Democrats led by Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., demanding to stay in session until it passes meaningful safeguards.

Johnson is scheduled to send the House home after this week until November’s elections have passed.

“The House should return to Washington immediately and remain in session until Congress advances meaningful, bipartisan AI safeguards,” the letter, obtained by CNBC, read. “To our children who will have read a post-apocalyptic history, ‘Why Congress Slept’ —likely written by agentic AI—our inaction will be inexplicable, and unforgivable.”

The Democrats urged consideration of…