The federal government has increasingly tried to control America's burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) sector, from proposing moratoriums on data centers to taking ownership stakes in tech firms. Now it wants to create a mandatory AI kill switch.
Last week, Reps. Ted Lieu (D–Calif.) and Nathaniel Moran (R–Texas) introduced the AI Kill Switch Act, which would require companies developing powerful AI systems to maintain the technical ability to restrict access to, throttle, suspend, or completely shut down their models. The bill would also allow the secretary of Homeland Security to order an AI company to limit or disable a system. Violations could result in fines of up to $2 million per day, rising to $20 million per day for violating an emergency order.
