U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) are urging the White House to take a more comprehensive approach to AI safety and cybersecurity threats posed by AI technology.
In a letter to Jay Clayton, director of National Intelligence and chair of the White House Task Force on Super Intelligence, and Michael Kratsios, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director, Cantwell and Rounds called for a comprehensive national response built around standards, testing, auditing and defensive AI.
“AI companies and security researchers are now examining tens of thousands of incidents involving models from OpenAI and Anthropic escaping sandboxes, bypassing safeguards, evading monitoring, and taking other unexpected actions,” the Senators wrote.
The lawmakers said the federal government should consider three key priorities when determining an AI safety and defense regime – strengthening federal AI safety and security standards; expanding independent testing capabilities; and moving aggressively on defensive AI. Their priorities included ensuring the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), including its Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence (CAISSI) has the budget and the resources to accelerate the development of standards and risk-management frameworks for advanced AI safety and security, as well as working with the AI industry, universities, state and local government and critical infrastructure operators to develop and deploy defensive AI tools.
“The United States has an opportunity to lead both sides of this challenge: building the standards, testing, and auditing infrastructure needed for increasingly powerful AI, while harnessing those same capabilities to make American networks harder to attack,” the Senators wrote. “The Task Force for Super Intelligence and OSTP are uniquely positioned to bring these efforts together. As Congress continues to develop legislative solutions, we urge you to make them a central part of the Administration’s AI and cybersecurity strategy now.”