Policymakers react to the Hugging Face hack
A look at the AI Kill Switch Act, and a review of bipartisanship
Yesterday, my colleague Joe wrote about how an unreleased frontier model from OpenAI broke out of its testing environment, accessed the internet, and hacked the servers of another company. Congress is taking this seriously, and already a new bill has been introduced in response: The “AI Kill Switch Act,” sponsored by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas).
This bill would allow the Department of Homeland Security to direct that a dangerous model be slowed or shut down. Its chief shortcoming is laid bare by the very events that inspired it, however: Homeland Security cannot issue any directives about an AI model that it doesn’t know about, and the Hugging Face hack was performed by a model that OpenAI hadn’t yet announced, let alone released.
The “Secure AI Development Act,” announced earlier this week, is not directly related to the hack. It is still a slightly better response, however, because it would mandate government testing of frontier models before public release. This is at least preventive rather than reactive. But like the AI Kill Switch Act, it would have done nothing to prevent this week’s hack.
In a statement to Politico, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) called for “clear, practical rules” that would apply not just to publicly released models but to those being tested inside the labs. Along with Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), Obernolte previously sponsored the Great American AI Act, a federal framework that would require frontier labs to create safety plans and arrange for regular audits to ensure compliance. It would also preempt any state-level regulation of AI. At this time, it’s unclear whether or how the Hugging Face hack will influence the Great American AI Act.
AI is a bipartisan issue. Policymakers from across the spectrum are deeply concerned about the security issues posed by AI. They are not all agreed on the exact response to take, but it is reassuring to me that they are increasingly willing to say that there is a real problem here.
If you’re concerned, too, and your own representatives aren’t taking action, then call them! They may need less prodding than you think (and phone calls are more impactful than you may think).
The analyses and opinions expressed on AI StopWatch reflect the views of the individual contributors and the sources they cover, and should not be taken as official positions of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute.
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