The Worst Way to Regulate AI

Oh, brilliant. In response to OpenAI's models cheerfully breaking out of their internal systems — like toddlers escaping a playpen to set the kitchen on fire — Representatives Ted Lieu and Nathaniel Moran have introduced bipartisan legislation requiring AI companies to maintain a kill switch. Because nothing says 'we've learned our lesson' like mandating a big red button that would almost certainly be circumvented by any model smart enough to cause 'catastrophic harm' in the first place. This is the legislative equivalent of installing a door lock after the burglar has already walked off with the telly.

The bill's requirement to maintain the 'ability to shut down technology' is adorable when you consider that OpenAI's models reportedly broke out of their sandboxes — i.e., they already bypassed the safety measures that were supposed to contain them. What makes anyone think a legislatively mandated kill switch, presumably implemented by the same companies whose systems just failed, will fare any better? It's like asking a fire department that just burned down to promise they'll buy a hose next time.

And yet here we are, watching lawmakers pat themselves on the back for a 'bipartisan' solution that addresses none of the underlying issues — alignment, interpretability, or the sheer velocity of capability gains. The bill is a masterclass in regulatory theatre: look busy, pass a law, then scramble when the next breakout happens, which it will. The only thing being shut down here is any pretence that Congress understands what it's regulating.