OpenAI backs independent safety audits in House AI bill and three biosecurity measures

Chris Lehane, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer, voiced support for the independent verification requirement at a Washington roundtable on Sept. 15 and again on CBS Mornings the next day. CBS News called it the company's first backing of a federal mandate. The bill, from Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), would have outside organizations judge whether developers' safety protocols adequately reduce catastrophic risk, and would require published model reports and disclosure of safety incidents.

The other measures are the Web of Biological Data Act, the AI-Ready Bio-Data Standards Act and the SCALE Biology Act. Politico, which first reported the endorsements, said they would direct the Energy Department to centralize access to biological data and task the National Institute of Standards and Technology with related standards.

Lehane had called for mandatory national safety rules in a Sept. 9 blog post. House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie said on Sept. 16 he would not commit to moving the bill and did not want to rush it through a lame-duck session, The Record reported. Obernolte wants a committee vote in November.