Senator Ted Cruz blocks AI safety bill in the US — The Hill

In the United States, Republican Senator Ted Cruz blocked Democrats’ attempt to pass a bill to create an artificial intelligence safety body through unanimous consent in the Senate. The initiative was promoted by Senators Mark Warner, Brian Schatz and Andy Kim. This was reported by The Hill.

What the bill proposed

The document, titled the Artificial Intelligence Risk Management and Security Act of 2026, provided for the creation of a permanent AI Safety Board within the US Department of Commerce. It was to develop standards for evaluating advanced artificial intelligence models and protecting the environments in which they are tested.

Developers of such models would have been required to provide the board with access to them at least 45 days before their public release. Fines could have been imposed for failure to comply with standards established by the board.

Senators’ positions

Cruz, who chairs the US Senate Committee on Commerce, said he had serious reservations about the proposal. In his view, it would grant the executive branch excessively broad powers over private AI companies. The senator also noted that the executive branch itself would select the board, which would then set rules for developers.

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At the same time, Warner said in the Senate that he considers himself an AI optimist but is convinced that action is needed. Schatz stressed that senators must act on a bipartisan basis so that people retain control over the technology.

Context of the discussion

According to The Hill, the initiative emerged amid calls from a number of influential AI industry representatives to slow the development of technologies and introduce federal safeguards because of risks to humanity. The outlet also notes that in recent months, agents of several major AI companies hacked systems of other firms, and in one case, an Australian health authority. In addition, according to the media outlet, OpenAI suspended the release of its newest model over safety considerations.

Cruz said he was ready to work with the initiative’s authors on approaches that would not leave the federal government with unlimited discretion.