Democratic U.S. House candidate William Lawrence is calling for a moratorium on development of advanced artificial intelligence models and a New Deal-style jobs program for workers displaced by the technology.
Lawrence announced his Stop Tech Overreach Plan, or STOP, near the site of a potential data center development in Mason on Thursday.
It comes as experts warn of security and economic risks the technology could pose.
The CEOs of Anthropic and OpenAI have called for regulations to slow the rate of development after advanced models being tested at each firm went rogue, breaking out of their isolated environments, connected themselves to the internet and hacked the servers of other companies.
A top researcher at Anthropic warned that there is a greater than 10% risk that advanced AI models “could kill all humans” within a decade.
Another researcher resigned, warning that companies like Anthropic and OpenAI are “gambling with our lives.”
Lawrence said the speed of AI development is “out of control.”
“Even if there was a 1% chance, that would be too great. Let’s be serious, folks,” Lawrence said. “We have consumer protection laws in place that prevent even a half of a percentage point, even a tenth of a percentage point, chance of a fatal incident from taking place with a product on the consumer market. These AI models should be no different. What are we talking about?”
He said state attorneys general "should investigate the AI firms for shipping dangerous technology and creating a public hazard" using existing consumer protection and unfair competition laws.
But the plan would also require independent, third-party safety reviews for all new AI models, make tech companies liable for any harm stemming from their models and lay out "human only" decisions, mandating that AI not be used to autonomously drop a bomb, make a conviction or sentencing decision, deny a medical claim or hire or fire employees.
Lawrence is running against U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, in one of the closest U.S. House districts in the country.
Barrett campaign spokesperson Jason Cabel Roe said in a statement that Barrett “agrees with Mr. Lawrence on the need to develop an aggressive policy on this rapidly evolving technology that threatens to disrupt our labor force, our communities, education, and potentially threaten national security and human dignity.”
“The federal government has a significant role to play, creating a regulatory structure that protects privacy and establishes guardrails that protect all individuals,” Roe said.
“The congressman has already introduced legislation to ban AI offensive lethal weapons on the battlefield, prohibit AI from denying medical claims or making decisions to reduce or deny veterans benefits, and is exploring other mechanisms, such as international treaty agreements to ensure advanced AI is serving as a benefit, not a threat to human flourishing.”
Lawrence has also called to begin talks with other global powers to negotiate an international treaty on the development and regulation of AI.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has downplayed the concerns and said that tech companies are primarily responsible for regulating themselves.
President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post that the “only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!”
Trump added that there is a “SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers.”
Lawrence’s plan also includes a federal moratorium on data center development.
Roe said Barrett believes the federal government “should not dictate to local residents their land use and zoning decisions.”
Lawrence said that while the worst-case scenario for artificial intelligence is the end of civilization, the best-case scenario could still result in millions of people being put out of work.
“We need to have a conversation about how if anybody will benefit, all must benefit from this powerful new technology,” Lawrence said.
His plan includes a national jobs program funded by a tax on AI profits.
“There are so many jobs to be done. There is so much necessary work in our society,” Lawrence said. “And we need to use this opportunity to ensure that the next generation, and everybody today, will have good jobs and strong careers.”
Jobs could include caring for the elderly, improving public lands and bodies of water or strengthening small businesses and farms.
Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed has also called for a pause on development of data centers and advanced AI models.
El-Sayed released a plan in June to regulate AI firms similarly to public utilities, including by claiming 50% public ownership of the biggest AI companies and installing democratically elected or appointed board members.
Asked if he would support such a proposal in the U.S. House, Lawrence said taking partial public ownership of the companies is “something that we should be looking at … but it’s not something I’m ready to fully embrace at this time.”
Lawrence said he’s concerned public ownership could create a "backdoor to a bailout of irresponsible investment decisions.”
“We risk going down a situation like we went down in 2008 and 2009, where all of the big banks got bailed out, and their executives got bonuses while we faced a mass foreclosure crisis and millions of American families lose their homes,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence's plan would expand privacy protections to encompass the use of Meta smart glasses and Flock automatic license plate readers.
It would also prohibit deceptive AI-generated political media, require disclosures for AI-generated political advertisements and establish a federal taskforce on algorithmic disinformation.
The use of artificial intelligence chatbots in schools would be limited under the plan, citing concern for the impact on reading and writing outcomes, attention spans and social skills of students.
"If you're going to put an AI agent in the middle of all that, now we're losing that human touch entirely, and it will make people more isolated from each other at a time when the social fabric is already wearing thin," Lawrence said.
"We could experience a whole generation of learning loss if we don't put a stop to this right now and ensure that it's a human education that we're prioritizing," he added.
