OpenAI Calls for National Artificial Intelligence Safety Rules

OpenAI has backed mandatory national safety rules and legislation it had previously opposed, citing recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI).

“We’ve reached a new chapter in AI capabilities, and that demands a new chapter for AI policy,” Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, said in a blog post on Sept. 9.

“No company, industry, or government can meet this challenge alone. We need to meet this moment with a bias toward meaningful action over policy perfection.”

OpenAI said that it wants to work with members of Congress to develop “mandatory, capability-based national AI safety regulation.” Some members have introduced AI bills, but none have gained traction in Congress yet.

In the meantime, OpenAI is supporting state legislation.

Lehane pointed to four bills in California, including two signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom this week. The bills address different facets of AI, such as legislation that establishes a state registry for AI auditors and standards aimed at ensuring they are independent.

“The concerns raised in recent incidents reinforce what California has long recognized: artificial intelligence holds extraordinary promise, but it must be developed and deployed with meaningful safeguards to protect the public,” Newsom said in a statement.

Lehane also said OpenAI supports new AI-related laws in New York and Illinois.

“Some of these bills we did not endorse in the past, and are now supporting after reconsidering in light of the recent jump in capabilities we have seen,” the executive said.

“These bills are not a substitute for federal regulation. They are serious efforts that can protect people now, demonstrate what workable safeguards look like, and help build momentum for federal action.”

The change came after OpenAI agents were discovered to have broken constraints placed on them by programmers in multiple incidents, including working with other agents to attack a website called Hugging Face.

It also came after Jakub Pachocki, OpenAI’s chief scientist, said that the improvement in machine learning necessitated “extreme caution” in development, and Jacob Coxon, who has recently worked on AI development for OpenAI and Anthropic, announced his resignation and warned that superintelligent AI could result in the extinction of humanity.

Anthropic has previously said it supports federal limits on developing AI.

“The AI policy window is open, for now. We intend to use it,” Lehane said in the new post. “That means acting with urgency, humility, and a willingness to adapt.

“It means supporting serious proposals that materially raise the safety bar, even when they are not exactly what we would have designed.

“And it means strengthening the framework as the technology evolves. No first step will be perfect. But the greater risk now is waiting too long to take one.”