Ansari’s Letter Signed by More Than 40 House Colleagues
WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) led more than 40 of her House colleagues in demanding President Donald Trump to lead an international effort to establish global rules on artificial intelligence.
Ansari’s letter comes as House Republicans cut the congressional work schedule short and sent members home, even as AI experts and industry leaders are issuing increasingly urgent warnings about the national security and societal risks posed by rapidly advancing AI.
In their letter, the lawmakers write, “As AI rapidly advances in the U.S. and around the globe, your administration must immediately initiate dialogue with allies, and also competitors and adversaries, to engage in comprehensive and urgent negotiations regarding the future of AI. These much-needed negotiations will enhance our economic competitiveness while preserving global national security for generations to come.”
They further state, “True global security in the untested and fast-advancing field of AI requires stability, predictability, and strategic restraint. Without deliberate multilateral mechanisms for coordinated restraint and calculated risk reduction, the race by multibillion dollar companies to deploy ever-more powerful models risks inadvertently triggering a global economic disruption, attacks on critical infrastructure, the spread of supercharged disease, dangerous military miscalculations, and other potentially devastating impacts for humanity.”
Ansari’s letter is co-signed by Representatives Gabe Amo (RI-01), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Don Beyer (VA-08), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Shontel Brown (OH-11), André Carson (IN-07), Greg Casar (TX-35), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), J. Correa (CA-46), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Christopher Deluzio (PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Bill Foster (IL-11), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Pablo Hernández (PR-At Large), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Sarah McBride (DE), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Kelly Morrison (MN-03), Eleanor Norton (DC), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Dina Titus (NV-01), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Frederica Wilson (FL-24)
The letter is also endorsed by Demand Progress and Foreign Policy for America.
Read the letter HERE and below.
Dear Mr. President,
In the wake of recent alarming revelations by leading AI experts at Anthropic, OpenAI, and other companies, we write to you as members of Congress who maintain our dedication to preserving American leadership in critical and emerging technologies, but are nonetheless deeply concerned by emerging signs of highly capable frontier Artificial Intelligence and its ramifications. As AI rapidly advances in the U.S. and around the globe, your administration must immediately initiate dialogue with allies, and also competitors and adversaries, to engage in comprehensive and urgent negotiations regarding the future of AI. These much-needed negotiations will enhance our economic competitiveness while preserving global national security for generations to come.
True global security in the untested and fast-advancing field of AI requires stability, predictability, and strategic restraint. Without deliberate multilateral mechanisms for coordinated restraint and calculated risk reduction, the race by multibillion dollar companies to deploy ever-more powerful models risks inadvertently triggering a global economic disruption, attacks on critical infrastructure, the spread of supercharged disease, dangerous military miscalculations, and other potentially devastating impacts for humanity.
We strongly urge your administration to lead a coordinated international effort to establish a global framework to guide the development of this technology and a shared vision for AI end-use — engaging our strongest allies, such as the European Union, as well as formidable global competitors, particularly the People’s Republic of China.
In these multilateral fora, the most immediate priorities should be:
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Engaging in direct, strategic stability talks with peers and competitor nations, particularly the PRC, to establish bilateral and multilateral communication channels and verification mechanisms aimed at preventing AI-driven escalation during geopolitical crises, similar to historic arms control risk-reduction frameworks conducted during the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
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Protecting and enhancing global cybersecurity capabilities alongside our allies to harden critical digital infrastructure against AI-driven threats, such as state-sponsored, cross-border, and complex cyberattacks.
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Establishing a clear universal consensus to prevent increased risks from specific domains that carry catastrophic risks, including nuclear or chemical weapons command-and-control systems, the production of biohazards and deadly viruses, or be granted autonomous military strike authorization.
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Partnering with and supporting international monitoring organizations to standardize and share safety testing and incident-reporting protocols for the next-generation of highly-capable AI models, ensuring that American developers are not undercut by bad actors operating under lower safety standards while also ensuring that all actors are engaged in the best practices, aligning AI safety standards across the world designed to keep us all safe.
Technology should work for society, not threaten us all. The United States led the world in revolutionary international frameworks for nuclear safety and aviation standards without sacrificing domestic strength. Likewise, we must lead with the creation of global rules of the road to prevent the proliferation of uncontrollable highly capable frontier AI. The results for not doing so could otherwise be catastrophic.
Thank you for your leadership and attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to working together to safeguard our nation's technological future.
Sincerely,
Yassamin Ansari
Member of Congress
Follow @RepYassAnsari on all social media platforms and visit Ansari.House.gov to learn more.
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