Hawley, Blumenthal Introduce Bipartisan AI Evaluation Legislation to Put Americans First

Today, U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Ill.) introduced bipartisan legislation to create a risk evaluation program within the Department of Energy (DOE) dedicated to tracking AI safety concerns related to Americans’ national security, civil liberties, and labor protections. The program would ensure real transparency by requiring developers of advanced AI systems to submit product information to the DOE before deploying their new technology.

“As Big Tech companies continue to develop new generations of artificial intelligence, the wide-ranging risks of their technology continue to grow unchecked and underreported. Simply stated, Congress must not allow our national security, civil liberties, and labor protections to take a back seat to AI. This bipartisan legislation would guarantee common-sense testing and oversight of the most advanced AI systems, so Congress and the American people can be better informed about potential risks,” said Senator Hawley.

“AI companies have rushed to market with products that are unsafe for the public and often lack basic due diligence and testing. Our legislation would ensure that a federal entity is on the lookout, scrutinizing these AI models for threats to infrastructure, labor markets, and civil liberties—conducting vital research and providing the public with the information necessary to benefit from AI promises, while avoiding many of its pitfalls,” said Senator Blumenthal.

The Artificial Intelligence Risk Evaluation Act would:

• Establish an “Advanced Artificial Intelligence Evaluation Program” within the DOE to evaluate advanced AI systems and collect data on the likelihood of adverse AI incidents, such as loss-of-control scenarios and weaponization by adversaries.
• Require developers of advanced AI systems to participate in the program, including a duty to provide information regarding the AI system upon request.
• Prohibit an advanced AI system from being deployed until the developer has complied with program requirements.
• Require the Secretary of Energy to annually report to Congress with a recommended plan for federal oversight of advanced AI systems based on the program’s results.

In July, Senators Hawley and Blumenthal introduced bipartisan legislation to protect consumers’ data rights and hold Big Tech companies accountable for illegally pirating creators’ copyrighted works to train their AI models.

Read the full bill text here.