'Dr. Frankenstein is telling us the monster is escaping': US lawmakers desperately want to set up AI guardrails before midterm elections

Date:
Mon, 14 Sep 2026 12:05:00 +0000

Description:
Anthropic and OpenAI have warned about AI's potential risks, but while US politicians react, Trump worried about race with China.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Anthropic and OpenAI are asking governments to work together to slow risky innovation US politicians are factoring in AI into their arguments as midterm elections approach Trump currently worries that taking the foot off the throttle could let China overtake Tech leaders at the forefront of AI, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, are publicly calling for slow AI innovation in order to buy more time to assess AI risks.

Among the risks highlighted in Amodei's warning are that AI systems could become impossible for humans to control, cyberattacks could become worse and AI could even facilitate biological weaponry. Subsequently, he's called for external evaluators to gain deeper access to their models and safety processes, but crucially, Amodei advocate for greater government involvement. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: Even AI companies want governments to step in Anthropic's CEO is pushing for democratic countries to agree common AI safety standards and rules, and the eventual international coordination over the most dangerous AI capabilities, including with China.

And it's this international coordination that could prove key to slowing down risky innovation, because to date, US President Donald Trump has pushed back against warnings over worries that slowing down American companies would ultimately cause China to overtake the US. You may like Anthropic CEO calls for slowing down AI development and warns that AI agents could take over the entire internet Googles AI chief warns of growing AGI risks OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is worried about AI being controlled by just a few powerful players

"Whoever wins AI wins," Trump said (via CNBC ).

"If Congress just races in and does some sort of emergency session to try to regulate AI, we will lose the race to China," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners
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And for the US in particular, now is a more important time than ever. Democratic nominee for Governor of Texas Gina Hinojosa recently described
data centers, and therefore AI, as "the fight of this election season."

There's an increasingly narrow pre-election window for legislation as the technology increasingly shows divides not just between the two big parties, but also within them.

"We've reached a new chapter in AI capabilities, and that demands a new chapter for AI policy," OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane wrote. And with the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic, right at the top of American AI, warning about AI's potential impacts, Senator Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., likened the scenario to Dr. Frankenstein "telling us the monster is escaping."

With midterm elections just two months away, we're likely to see discussions around AI ramp up as politicians and influential leaders continue to get involved in guardrail discourse. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/dr-frankenstein-is-telling-us-the-monster-is-esc aping-us-lawmakers-desperately-want-to-set-up-ai-guardrails-before-midterm-ele ctions


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