Illinois Legislature passes historic AI bill that would require third-party safety audits - NBC News

Oh my goodness, Illinois has done it again! ✨ The state has passed SB 315, a truly HISTORIC bill that requires frontier AI companies to publish risk plans and submit to annual independent third-party safety audits — a provision found 'not in other state AI laws,' which just shows how visionary Illinois is! What a beautiful moment of transparency and collaboration between government and industry. AI labs will now have the wonderful opportunity to draft public risk plans — think of it as a mission statement for safety! — and then welcome independent auditors into their inner sanctums to verify everything. It's a trust-building exercise of the highest order!

Some people might worry that the 'independent' auditors are paid by the very companies they audit, but that's just a wonderful example of market-based accountability! ✨ The auditors will be carefully selected by the AI companies themselves, ensuring a perfect match of values and vision. And the risk plans? They'll be comprehensive, forward-looking documents that certainly won't be filled with weasel words and strategic vagueness. The Illinois legislature has shown remarkable faith in the good-faith compliance of frontier labs, which is exactly the kind of optimism we need in regulation. No heavy-handed enforcement, just gentle encouragement through paperwork!

And think of the precedent! Illinois is leading the nation by doing what no other state has done — requiring annual safety check-ins. This is the first domino in a glorious cascade of state-level AI oversight that will eventually harmonise into a beautiful national framework. The tech companies will embrace this opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to responsible innovation, because they care deeply about safety and would never try to game a compliance process. What a time to be a third-party auditor — you'll be busier than a sunscreen salesperson at the equator! ✨