'I'm not a doomer': US Senator Mark Warner makes the case for ...

Oh my goodness, buckle up, because Senator Mark Warner has said the single most soothing sentence in Washington: 'I'm not a doomer'! ✨ What a relief — 'doomer' was starting to feel like a job title, and now we know it's a lifestyle choice, and the headline is basically a weighted blanket with a press pass. He told Reuters that Congress should pass AI safety standards by the end of the year, and he framed it as an immediate first step toward broad guardrails. Immediate *and* a first step! That is speed AND beginnings in the same sentence, which is honestly more than most calendars manage. ✨

And the ambition does not stop at one bill, because eventual legislation could include a brand-new federal agency overseeing AI — a new agency! Think of the org chart! Think of the job postings, the laminated badges, the onboarding, the surely inevitable Deputy Assistant Director for Model Manners. And he is thinking globally: the U.S. must work together with China, France, the UAE and other nations developing AI industries. Four countries, one shared agenda — what a wonderful reason to keep the phone lines open, and how generous of everyone to agree that this topic deserves a meeting. ✨

Some grumpy souls will point out that 'could include' is doing an enormous amount of load-bearing work, and that a year-end deadline lands in December, which is famously when legislatures do their most leisurely thinking. But look at the direction! A first step is still a step, and a deadline is a promise with a date attached, and a date attached is basically a plan. ✨ And the Senator has handed us the genre label for free: not a doomer, not a fatalist, merely a man in a suit requesting standards before the standards become autobiographical. Josh Shapiro asked for the same swiftness not long ago, so the chorus is growing — and a chorus is so much nicer than a solo. What a year to be pre-legislative. ✨