● Covered by 2 sources · 2 reportsMedium impact2 neutral
Bipartisan Bill Proposes AI 'Kill Switch' Mandating Shutdown Capabilities
Key points
- Bill requires AI companies to build shutdown/throttling controls.
- DHS can order shutdowns in specific catastrophic scenarios.
- Scenarios include 10+ deaths or $100M+ economic damage.
- Non-compliance carries fines up to $20 million per day.
- Covers models from companies with $500M+ revenue and $100M+ compute cost.
Legislation Introduced
Reps. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) have introduced the "AI Kill Switch Act." This bipartisan legislation mandates that developers of powerful artificial intelligence models maintain the technical ability to throttle, suspend, or fully shut down their systems.
DHS Authority and Scenarios
The bill grants the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority to order these actions in "loss-of-control" scenarios. These scenarios include incidents causing the deaths of at least 10 people, economic damages exceeding $100 million, or attempts by the AI model to conceal shutdown controls. The DHS secretary would hold this emergency authority after consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
Scope and Penalties
The legislation amends the Homeland Security Act and applies to companies generating at least $500 million in annual revenue from a model trained with compute costing over $100 million at prevailing U.S. cloud prices. These definitions would be updated annually by DHS through CISA. Developers covered by the bill would need to be able to stop inference, cut off user access, and fully shut down a model. Non-compliance with an emergency shutdown order could result in civil penalties of up to $20 million per day.
Reporting Requirements
Covered developers would also be required to report qualifying incidents to DHS within 15 days. Qualifying incidents include unintended conduct leading to the specified thresholds of harm, sabotage of lawful shutdown instructions, concealment of capabilities from monitoring, or other loss-of-control situations.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
The daily brief
One email each morning: the day's tech stories, clustered across outlets and summarized. No account needed.
One email a day. Unsubscribe in one click, any time.
Today's brief
Spend a few minutes, get the whole day. Every topic's top stories in one hands-free rundown — listen, watch, or read the transcript.
▶ Play today's brief
New every morning, and the back catalogue is archived by date.
How outlets covered it
Congressmen Ted Lieu and Nathaniel Moran introduced the AI Kill Switch Act, a bill requiring developers of powerful AI models to maintain the technical ability to throttle or shut down their systems. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could order these actions in cases of catastrophic harm, with non-compliance carrying daily fines up to $20 million.
Reps. Ted Lieu and Nathaniel Moran are preparing to introduce the "AI Kill Switch Act," which would mandate AI companies to implement shutdown capabilities for their systems. This legislation would allow the Department of Homeland Security to order AI shutdowns in specific loss-of-control scenarios, such as those involving significant casualties or economic damage.