Dems tee up legislative response to Pentagon AI fight
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Democrats in the House and Senate are readying their response to the Pentagon's fight with Anthropic, including a measure to prevent federal agencies from punishing AI companies over disputes, sources familiar with the matter tell Axios.
Why it matters: The administration's unprecedented blacklisting of a leading American AI company could spur Congress to act on AI guardrails.
Driving the news: Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.) plans to introduce an amendment to the Defense Production Act in response to the Anthropic-Pentagon dispute, his office tells Axios exclusively.
- Liccardo's measure would amend the DPA to prohibit federal agencies from retaliating against AI and emerging tech vendors, per his office.
- The DPA Modernization Act will be marked up on Wednesday by the House Financial Services Committee.
- Liccardo represents Silicon Valley on Capitol Hill.
Zoom in: While the Pentagon ultimately did not invoke the Defense Production Act in the Anthropic standoff, officials raised it as a possibility during negotiations to try to compel the company to remove its safety restrictions.
- The Defense Production Act gives the president the authority to compel private companies to accept and prioritize particular contracts as required for national defense.
- The DPA is set to expire on Sept. 30.
What we're watching: Senate Democrats are in the early stages of weighing legislation related to the Anthropic-Pentagon battle, according to a source familiar with discussions.
- They are considering legislation to broadly address concerns that the Pentagon is pursuing AI systems that could enable domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons without human oversight, per the source.
- These discussions are in preliminary stages, but are expected to accelerate with lawmakers returning to the Hill on Monday.
Flashback: Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) along with Defense Appropriations Chair Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Ranking Member Chris Coons (D-Del.) sent Anthropic and the Pentagon a private letter last week urging them to resolve the issue, the source said.
- The bipartisan letter called for the Pentagon to extend its deadline, which it did not.
The big picture: There are no comprehensive laws governing AI systems or consumer privacy in the U.S.
- Though the Pentagon has its own guidelines for AI systems and autonomous weapons, conflict over the limits of Anthropic's technology led to an ugly, public showdown and spurred calls for Congress to set clearer guardrails on military AI use.
