Former CA Senator Scott Wiener Elected to Congress, Plans to Lead Federal AI Regulation Efforts
Scott Wiener won Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco congressional seat and intends to push for federal AI safety measures, including a select committee and mandatory 'kill switches' for frontier models.
According to MIT Technology Review, former California State Senator Scott Wiener has won the congressional seat vacated by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and intends to make federal artificial intelligence regulation a cornerstone of his political career. Wiener previously authored SB 1047 in California (vetoed by Governor Newsom) and sponsored the lighter-touch SB 53, both of which have inspired proposed federal legislation.
Wiener expressed concern following a recent METR report widely interpreted as evidence that Anthropic may have achieved 'recursive self-improvement,' stating that time to regulate AI is running out. He advocates for decisive Congressional action, including establishing a strong, empowered federal regulator, implementing whistleblower protections, requiring testing and auditing, and mandating 'kill switches' for advanced AI models.
Although Wiener's campaign received over $3 million from Public First Action, a nonprofit funded substantially by Anthropic, leading to criticism about being too close to the industry, Wiener rejected these claims. He stated he would be eager to serve on a potential Congressional select committee on AI and opposes broad federal preemption of state AI laws, arguing states should remain 'laboratories' capable of nimble regulation.