Washington: Bipartisan Front Against AI, OpenAI Supports Audits

Key Takeaways

1In Washington, a coalition ranging from Bernie Sanders to Steve Bannon is calling for new limits on AI, from a freeze on data centers to executive orders

2The White House, through President Trump, dismisses these concerns and threatens AI leaders with sanctions

3OpenAI supports a provision of the FRONTIER Act requiring independent security audits for large labs, a first at the federal level for the company

Why it matters : The debate on regulating AI unites political opponents and for the first time pushes OpenAI to support a requirement for external audits in the United States.

In Washington, elected officials and figures from opposing sides, from Bernie Sanders to Steve Bannon, are coming together to call for stricter regulation of AI. While the White House dismisses these warnings, OpenAI supports a key provision of the FRONTIER Act, which would impose independent security audits on major labs.

OpenAI supports an audit requirement in the FRONTIER Act

OpenAI backs a provision of the FRONTIER Act, championed by Jay Obernolte and Lori Trahan, that would establish the first federal framework for AI security. Major labs could be required to engage independent verification organizations, but this obligation would only apply to companies exceeding certain revenue and computing power thresholds. Chris Lehane, OpenAI's head of global affairs, indicated that the company had informed one of the bill's authors that it could support this measure. This marks the first time OpenAI has endorsed a concrete federal mandate for external auditors, after previously supporting a bill in California. Sam Altman had also agreed to a voluntary external audit at the request of Dario Amodei, director of Anthropic. Politico reported on OpenAI's support.

The White House dismisses alarms and raises threats

The White House opposes the initiatives discussed at the conference. President Trump labeled concerns about AI as a hoax and threatened industry leaders with criminal action in the event of damage caused by their systems.

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In Washington, a diverse coalition calls for brakes

A bipartisan front has formed to call for stronger limits on AI. At the Pro-Human Assembly, Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon each advocated for tightening regulations, with Sanders describing the current moment as dangerous and unprecedented and calling for restraint. The event, organized by the Future of Life Institute, saw participation from several hundred people, including Republicans, Democrats, evangelical religious leaders, Mormons, Catholics, and artists. Hats distributed at the meeting bore the inscription "Let's Keep the Future Human." The calls from Sanders and Bannon for stricter limits were reported by the New York Times.

Divergent paths: moratoriums, bans, or executive orders

The proposed paths remain varied and without consensus. Among the suggestions are a moratorium on the construction of data centers and the use of executive orders. Greg Casar supports banning AI systems deemed too powerful to be controlled by humans, while Lori Trahan asserts that the future must remain human. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone emphasizes the need to maintain control over AI. Ashley Judd, representing the SAG-AFTRA union, condemned the excesses and misinformation, while parents spoke out following the suicides of teenagers linked to interactions with chatbots. Bernie Sanders introduced a bill aimed at pausing the construction of data centers and sought a commitment between Trump and Xi Jinping to ban superintelligent AI. Steve Bannon believes that legislation will not be sufficient and advocates for the establishment of an executive order, mentioning a pivotal moment and the need to no longer adopt a beggar's posture towards oligarchs.