Rand Paul Blocks AI Kill-Switch Bill as 43% Accept Falling Behind China
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Sep 17
Rand Paul Blocks AI Kill-Switch Bill as 43% Accept Falling Behind China
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Sep 17
Summary
Rand Paul on Wednesday blocked Sen. John Kennedy’s bid to fast-track a bill requiring AI companies to build a “kill switch” into their models.
China competition fears are slowing broader AI safety efforts in Congress, with House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie arguing the U.S. cannot risk Chinese dominance and may delay action until next year.
A new POLITICO poll showed the public split: 43% said the U.S. can fall behind to develop AI more responsibly, while 37% said it should not; Trump 2024 voters favored the competition-first view 50% to 34% among Harris voters.
Other safety measures also face delays: Ted Cruz said he still hopes to mark up a bipartisan Thune-Klobuchar bill this month, but no final agreement is in place and Thune said it may slip past the midterms.
The divide extends beyond Congress, with Anthropic declining to back mandatory independent AI monitoring a day after OpenAI endorsed the proposal, underscoring how hard a consensus remains.