Anthropic Draft Bill Requires Court Order to Block AI Model Release
The AI lab’s proposed legislation mandates judicial approval before federal agencies can halt a model deemed a catastrophic risk.
Key points
- Anthropic proposes a bill allowing AI model blocks only with a judge's permission.
- The draft defines catastrophic risk as 50+ deaths or over $1 billion in damages.
- Independent evaluators would report risks to the Commerce Department within 72 hours.
Anthropic has circulated a draft bill to Congress that would establish strict judicial requirements for blocking the release of artificial intelligence models. According to Politico, the legislation requires a federal judge to approve any halt on distribution, even if federal agencies identify imminent catastrophic risks. This approach limits the ability of executive branch agencies to act unilaterally against potentially dangerous AI systems.
The proposed policy sets specific thresholds for what constitutes a catastrophic risk. Under the bill, a model could be blocked if it poses a foreseeable and imminent risk of killing more than 50 people or causing over one billion dollars in property damage. These specific metrics mirror those found in California’s recently passed Senate Bill 53, which uses similar figures to define catastrophic scenarios. The risks must stem from biological weapon creation, evasion of developer controls, or cyberattacks.
Regulatory Process and Oversight
Anthropic’s draft outlines a specific workflow for identifying and addressing these high-level threats. The process relies on independent evaluators who would be registered with the U.S. Commerce Department. These evaluators would analyze models for potential disasters. The bill allows AI labs to pay for these evaluations, provided that the payment is not contingent on the results of the assessment. This structure aims to maintain evaluator independence while utilizing industry-funded mechanisms.
When an evaluator determines that an imminent catastrophic risk exists, they must notify the Commerce Department within 72 hours. The Commerce Department would then be required to petition a judge in Washington, D.C., to halt the model’s release. The legislation explicitly forbids any federal agency from exercising discretion to stop a model’s distribution on its own. This requirement ensures that judicial oversight is the final gatekeeper for such actions.
Industry Context and Response
The proposal reflects ongoing industry debates regarding the proper path for AI safety regulation. Over the past year, concerns have grown about the potential dangers posed by artificial intelligence, leading to varied proposals for government oversight. Anthropic’s vision emphasizes judicial involvement over administrative action. This contrasts with some earlier suggestions for self-governing regulatory bodies that mimic financial industry structures.
Demis Hassabis, chairman of DeepMind, previously suggested that a self-governing AI regulatory body should resemble the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. However, Anthropic’s current draft focuses on integrating AI safety checks into existing legal frameworks rather than creating new autonomous regulatory entities. The company did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment regarding the bill. A spokesperson did confirm the existence of the draft legislation to Politico.
What should you do?
Security and technology professionals should monitor legislative developments closely as these proposals could significantly impact product release timelines and compliance requirements. Organizations developing or deploying AI models should prepare for potential mandatory evaluation processes. Understanding the specific thresholds for catastrophic risk will help teams assess their own systems against future regulatory standards.
What to do and how to stay safe: Anthropic
- Review current AI development pipelines to identify potential points where independent evaluations might be required under new regulations.
- Monitor official updates from the U.S. Commerce Department and Congress regarding the status of Anthropic’s proposed draft bill.
- Assess internal risk assessment frameworks to ensure they align with the defined metrics of catastrophic risk, such as mass casualty or billion-dollar damage scenarios.
- Prepare documentation that demonstrates how payments for third-party evaluations are structured to ensure they are not contingent on evaluation results.
Step-by-step guide: Prompt Injection Warning Signs: How to Spot AI Manipulation
General security guidance from the Threat Times newsroom. It is not confirmed advice from the organisations named in this story.
Frequently asked questions
Can federal agencies block an AI model under this proposed bill?
No, the legislation expressly forbids federal agencies from halting a model's distribution without first obtaining permission from a judge.
What specific risks trigger the blocking mechanism in the draft bill?
The bill targets risks involving over 50 deaths or more than one billion dollars in property damage stemming from biological weapons, control evasion, or cyberattacks.
Who conducts the safety evaluations for AI models?
Independent evaluators registered with the U.S. Commerce Department would conduct the analyses, potentially funded by the AI labs themselves.
