A letter is circulating among House members urging Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to bring back the House "immediately" and keep it in session until Congress passes AI safeguards , Axios has learned. Why it matters: Such drastic action has been proposed by members of both parties this week after current and former Anthropic researchers went public with warnings that AI could kill off humanity in the next decade. - The letter to Johnson, drafted by Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.), says "urgent action" is needed "to address catastrophic risk posed by advanced artificial intelligence," according to a copy first obtained by Axios . - The letter is co-signed by Reps. George Whitesides (D-Calif.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) but was still being…
A week of extraordinary warnings about AI is shifting the fight in Washington from whether to regulate to how far policymakers are willing to go. Why it matters: Washington and industry's failure to put basic guardrails around AI came into plain sight this week, spurring fresh momentum for regulatory action. Lawmakers were quick to re-up their AI bills following a stark warning that went viral from a former Anthropic researcher who said he quit the company over safety concerns. - The post thrust the topic into public consciousness with more than 150 million views and fueled debate, but congressional leadership and President Trump have largely been quiet. - Those are the players to watch for a true change in the U.S. AI policy…
The White House is negotiating a federal preemption of some state AI laws in exchange for its support of key tech policy priorities from the Hill, Axios has learned. Why it matters: States are increasingly passing stronger AI laws and the Trump administration is feeling the heat to get something done. - The talks are aiming to pair one of the tech industry's top priorities — overriding state AI laws — with legislation aimed at protecting kids online and combating deepfakes. Behind the scenes: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is leading the negotiations, per a spokesperson, which include the Kids Online Safety Act and other tech-related measures. - "Senator Blackburn is spearheading the negotiation with the White House to finalize…
OpenAI and Anthropic briefed House Homeland Security Committee staff on their new cyber-capable AI models and their implications for cybersecurity, Axios has learned. Why it matters: This is one of the first briefings that lawmakers have had with the AI giants about the cyber threats posed by their new models, including to under-resourced critical infrastructure sectors. State of play: Anthropic has held off on a public release of its Mythos Preview model due to its ability to quickly find and exploit critical security flaws. - OpenAI decided on a tiered approach for releasing its GPT-5.4-Cyber model. - Both companies are working with federal agencies to get them access to the models. Driving the news: OpenAI and Anthropic briefed…