Senate Majority Leader John Thune says President Trump is "not really dug in" against guardrails for AI , despite Trump's public campaign against restricting the technology. Why it matters: Thune told Axios he spoke privately with Trump as the AI issue was getting "pretty hot" a few weeks ago and believes some of Trump's strong pushback is against public "paranoia and noise around the subject." - Thune reads Trump's position as a preference for companies coming up with ways to secure their systems, rather than Congress or the administration. That approach relies more on experts to provide guidance. - Trump has called recent fears around AI safety a "hoax." - "I do think that the threats are real," Thune told Axios in an interview on…
Who is Dario Amodei and what did he discuss with Senator John Thune?
Dario Amodei is the CEO of Anthropic. He called Senator Thune to discuss AI safety and also discussed Thune's AI bill.
0a130a83-487f-4c69-a7ff-b3e1173977af
Which Democratic senators is Amy Klobuchar attempting to bring on as co-sponsors for the AI bill?
Senator Amy Klobuchar is working to secure more Democratic co-sponsors, specifically mentioning Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), before re-introducing the bill.
2b05aa1e-345a-4fad-b8b5-54ee093d3035
What are the primary disagreements between Thune's AI bill and Democratic lawmakers?
According to Thune, there are two main sticking points: Democrats want pre-deployment testing to be mandated, whereas the current bill language allows companies to opt into it; and Senator Maria Cantwell is requesting AI rulemaking authority at the Department of Commerce, which Thune fears could grant too much power to the executive branch.
6cb7d2b8-cf1f-46b6-a12b-e8d52145b6fa
What are the key provisions of the AI bill introduced by Senator John Thune and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)?
The bill, which has not yet been reintroduced in the current Congress, places the responsibility on tech companies to mitigate AI risks. It requires AI companies to report on any serious risks associated with frontier models and to develop plans to address those concerns.
c6656ea2-d1a3-49c7-a932-72844bf5d3af