Speaker Mike Johnson Hopes for Voluntary AI Guardrails
Mike Johnson, House Speaker, expressed his wish for voluntary safety standards, or guardrails, for Artificial Intelligence (AI) (read this guide) during an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box." This came ahead of his meeting with AI leaders and President Donald Trump at the White House.
Johnson emphasized, "I hope it’s voluntary. We’ll find out what comes out of the meeting today. I think that’s where they’re headed." He suggested that AI executives, "see the handwriting on the wall," aiming to assure investors, consumers, and the public of safe AI development.
The Republican from Louisiana is set to meet with executives from Anthropic, Meta, and Alphabet at the White House lunch, according to CNBC.
Liability and Regulation
CNBC inquired about potential exemptions from liability for AI companies. Johnson assured, "it doesn’t come up." He stressed that existing product liability law will hold AI companies accountable, "and we’re going to make sure that that keeps everybody in check."
Congress is currently in the early stages of AI regulation, with recess scheduled to end after the midterm elections. Proposals on the Capitol Hill include independent audits, new liability laws, and regulatory reviews of AI models.
OpenAI's Decision
Johnson's comments followed OpenAI's announcement to halt the release of GPT-6.1 Astra due to safety concerns. This decision underscores the growing emphasis on AI safety standards.