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AIQuiet 10d · day 11

Congress proposes AI kill switches; Anthropic CEO counters with 'pacing' framework

Lawmakers push extreme measures to control AI development while industry leaders advocate measured slowdown.

newest coverage 10d agosummary written 9d ago2 pieces NewswiresGoogle News

What to know

  • Congress is advancing maximalist proposals: jail terms for superintelligence researchers, mandatory kill switches, and federal surveillance of AI labs via a new Cabinet-level agency.
  • Anthropic's CEO counters with "pacing"—voluntary slowdown overseen by external auditors—arguing regulation is both unworkable and economically risky against Chinese competition.
  • A former Anthropic engineer who resigned over safety concerns rejects the measured approach, warning AI poses extinction-level risk by 2030.
  • The core tension: whether AI risk demands government enforcement (surveillance, jails, kill switches) or industry self-governance with modest friction.

“The minute, I mean the nanosecond, that one starts figuring out ways to make itself smarter, Turing'll wipe it. Every AI ever built has an electromagnetic shotgun wired to its forehead.”

Character in William Gibson's 'Neuromancer' · The New Yorker ↗ · Sep 16

Bernie Sanders & Greg Casar U.S. Senators and RepresentativesTed Lieu & Nathaniel Moran Congressional sponsorsDario AmodeiDario Amodei Anthropic CEOJacob Coxon Former Anthropic software engineer

Congress proposes AI kill switches; Anthropic CEO counters with 'pacing' framework
newyorkermag.visitlink.me

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articles

Peak 1 piece in 3h at Sep 17, 5 AM; 2 pieces over 11 days (2 articles) Sep 17, 5 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 17, 8 AM — quietSep 17, 11 AM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — quietSep 17, 5 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Sep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 11 PM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 5 AM — quietSep 18, 8 AM — quietSep 18, 11 AM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 5 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 11 PM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 5 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 11 AM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 5 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 11 PM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 5 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 11 AM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 5 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 11 PM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 5 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietSep 23, 2 AM — quietSep 23, 5 AM — quietSep 23, 8 AM — quietSep 23, 11 AM — quietSep 23, 2 PM — quietSep 23, 5 PM — quietSep 23, 8 PM — quietSep 23, 11 PM — quietSep 24, 2 AM — quietSep 24, 5 AM — quietSep 24, 8 AM — quietSep 24, 11 AM — quietSep 24, 2 PM — quietSep 24, 5 PM — quietSep 24, 8 PM — quietSep 24, 11 PM — quietSep 25, 2 AM — quietSep 25, 5 AM — quietSep 25, 8 AM — quietSep 25, 11 AM — quietSep 25, 2 PM — quietSep 25, 5 PM — quietSep 25, 8 PM — quietSep 25, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 11 AM — quietToday, 2 PM — quietToday, 5 PM — quiet 1–2
Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22Sep 23Sep 24Sep 25yesterdaynow · 7:55 PM ET
  1. 1

    Former Anthropic engineer warns of extinction risk

    Jacob Coxon, a software engineer who resigned from Anthropic over safety policies, stated that AI could "kill us all by the end of the decade," pointing to the inadequacy of Amodei's measured approach.

    “AI could 'kill us all by the end of the decade.'”
    — Jacob Coxon
  2. background

    Amodei advocates "pacing" over regulatory extremes — Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay arguing AI companies should slow capability advancement to allow safety measures to catch up, using external auditors rather than government surveillance or kill switches.

  3. background

    Lieu and Moran propose AI Kill Switch Act — The A.I. Kill Switch Act would require AI companies to build systems capable of being shut down on short notice.

  4. 2

    Sanders and Casar introduce AI jail terms bill

    Congressional legislation proposes jailing scientists working on "superintelligence" for up to twenty years and establishing a new Cabinet-level National A.I. Agency to surveil computer scientists' work.