Lawmakers look to prevent AI technology from launching nuclear weapons

BY CAITLYN KIM COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO

Republican Congressman Ken Buck was on the House oor when his Democratic colleague Ted Lieu approached him with an idea: would he be interested in a bill to ensure that arti cial intelligence could not launch nuclear weapons?

“We’ve all seen the sci- movies where arti cial intelligence takes over and ghts wars,” Buck said. For him, it makes sense to have a human, and “probably more than one, to make these decisions.”

Buck and Lieu are sponsors of the Autonomous Arti cial Intelligence Act along with Democratic Rep. Don Beyer. It’s a bill to ensure a human being would always be in charge of nuclear targeting and any potential launch.

“ e bill is important to make sure there are no accidents in the use of nuclear weapons and that there are humans that are making responsible decisions,” Buck said. He and Lieu have worked together before, having entered Congress together in the same class and both serving as their respective party’s freshman class president.

In a statement, Lieu called it forward-thinking legislation. “While we all try to grapple with the pace at which AI is accelerating, the future of AI and its role in society remains