{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/hickenlooper-calls-on-trump-ai-ceos-to-work-with-congress-on-responsible-ai-guardrails-ahead-of-white-house-meeting/", "Hickenlooper Calls on Trump, AI CEOs to Work with Congress on Responsible AI Guardrails Ahead of White House Meeting", "2026-09-29", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CO", "John W. Hickenlooper", "H000273", "www.hickenlooper.senate.gov", "hickenlooper", "https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press/page/", "scraper", "\u201cNow is the time to move beyond warnings and start writing the guardrails\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON \u2013 Ahead of President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson\u2019s expected meeting with leading technology executives Tuesday, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) sent a letter to the president urging him to use the meeting to commit to working with Congress on meaningful federal guardrails for artificial intelligence (AI).\n\n\u201cMany of the attendees at this meeting have warned about the risks of unregulated AI and have called for stronger safety measures,\u201d Hickenlooper wrote. \u201cWe are in a critical moment, where the White House and Congress must act together to pass safety and transparency measures that keep the American people safe and informed as this technology is developed. Now is the time to move beyond warnings and start writing the guardrails, including independent third-party evaluations that will help protect Americans.\u201d\n\nHickenlooper criticized the administration for prioritizing rapid AI development while rolling back federal safeguards and downplaying warnings from AI researchers.\n\n\u201cTo date, our country has not established transparent, meaningful safeguards to address the growing risks of AI,\u201d Hickenlooper wrote. \u201cYou have prioritized accelerating AI development and maintaining a voluntary classified benchmarking process through the National Security Agency for advanced cyber capabilities while rolling back various federal safeguards. In addition, you have publicly called fears from AI researchers a \u2018hoax,\u2019 downplaying the potential threats of irresponsible development of this technology.\u201d\n\nHickenlooper called on Trump and technology leaders to work with Congress to:\n\nCommit to independent third-party evaluation of America\u2019s most powerful AI models;\n\nEstablish meaningful accountability when companies knowingly deploy dangerous AI systems;\n\nImprove reporting of serious AI incidents and vulnerabilities so government and critical infrastructure operators can respond quickly to emerging threats;\n\nProtect communities from the costs of the AI buildout, including ensuring massive data centers pay their own way for their energy consumption rather than forcing ratepayers to subsidize them;\n\nProtect the American workforce as AI transforms the workplace, by improving forecasting and federal data availability on AI\u2019s impact on jobs and making education and job training programs more effective; and\n\nStrengthen U.S. export restrictions on advanced AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, protecting American technology and working with our allies and partners to ensure that AI is developed in accordance with our values.\n\nHickenlooper joined CNBC\u2019s Squawk Box to discuss his letter. Watch the interview here.\n\nHickenlooper pointed to a series of recent incidents that demonstrate the growing risks of increasingly powerful AI. This spring, the United States narrowly avoided a potential escalation with China after an intelligence report generated with AI incorrectly identified a Chinese vessel as carrying components for nuclear weapons. More recently, rogue AI agents have broken through cybersecurity safeguards, accessed nonpublic health information on an Australian government website, and meddled with several U.S. government agency websites, including an attempted hack of the Department of Education.\n\nHickenlooper urged Trump and technology leaders to reject the extremes currently dominating the AI debate and instead pursue responsible regulation that preserves innovation while protecting Americans.\n\n\u201cTo truly achieve a \u2018Golden Age\u2019 of America, we need to seize this golden opportunity to bridge the two extremes of the AI debate,\u201d Hickenlooper wrote. \u201cSomewhere between full speed ahead and full stop lies the real opportunity: a chance to develop thoughtful, sensible guardrails that ensure AI is safe, and that it helps everyone, not a select few.\u201d\n\nHickenlooper has introduced bipartisan legislation to responsibly regulate AI, including the VET AI Act, which directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop standards and guidelines for independent third-party evaluations of AI systems. Earlier this month, OpenAI publicly backed third-party verification after Anthropic announced it would provide independent evaluators \u201cemployee-like access\u201d to its models.\n\nHickenlooper has previously called on the Senate Commerce Committee to hold hearings with leaders from across the AI industry and urged Congress to enact stronger AI guardrails.\n\nFor the full text of the letter, click HERE or find below:\n\nDear President Trump:\n\nAs you and Speaker Johnson prepare to gather with American technology leaders, I write to urge you to use this meeting as an opportunity to commit to working with Congress on meaningful federal guardrails that require greater transparency and safety measures for artificial intelligence.\n\nWhat once felt possible only in science fiction is happening before our eyes in real time. This spring, the United States narrowly avoided a major escalation with China after an intelligence report, based on an AI hallucination, incorrectly identified a Chinese ship in the Middle East as transporting components for nuclear weapons. The U.S. military prepared to intercept and board the vessel before officials learned the truth. The operation was called off, averting a potential crisis.\n\nSince then, OpenAI agents have broken through cybersecurity safeguards and exploited vulnerabilities in an attempt to escape the \u201csandbox\u201d designed to contain them, including working collectively to cover their tracks. Rogue agents have also accessed nonpublic health data on an Australian government website and meddled with several U.S. government agency websites, including an attempted hack of the Department of Education. Earlier this month a top Anthropic researcher resigned with a stark warning about the risks of rapidly accelerating AI. This high level of risk demands urgent action.\n\nTo date, our country has not established transparent, meaningful safeguards to address the growing risks of AI. You have prioritized accelerating AI development and maintaining a voluntary classified benchmarking process through the National Security Agency for advanced cyber capabilities while rolling back various federal safeguards. In addition, you have publicly called fears from AI researchers a \u201choax,\u201d downplaying the potential threats of irresponsible development of this technology. By contrast, three out of four Americans agree that AI firms are not doing enough to prevent disaster. This pursuit of AI leadership at all costs leaves Americans needlessly vulnerable as these systems rapidly become more powerful and potentially uncontrollable.\n\nThere are many steps we should take on AI that have outsized potential to protect Americans while preserving innovation. These include:\n\nCommit to independent third-party evaluation of America\u2019s most powerful AI models;\n\nEstablish meaningful accountability when companies knowingly deploy dangerous AI systems;\n\nImprove reporting of serious AI incidents and vulnerabilities so government and critical infrastructure operators can respond quickly to emerging threats;\n\nProtect communities from the costs of the AI buildout, including ensuring massive data centers pay their own way for their energy consumption rather than forcing ratepayers to subsidize them;\n\nProtect the American workforce as AI transforms the workplace, by improving forecasting and federal data availability on AI\u2019s impact on jobs and making education and job training programs more effective; and\n\nStrengthen U.S. export restrictions on advanced AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, protecting American technology and working with our allies and partners to ensure that AI is developed in accordance with our values.\n\nRogue AI agents threaten the security of our government systems and reshape the U.S. economy. Many of the attendees at this meeting have warned about the risks of unregulated AI and have called for stronger safety measures. We are in a critical moment where the White House and Congress must act together to pass safety and transparency measures that keep the American people safe and informed as this technology is developed. Now is the time to move beyond warnings and start writing the guardrails, including independent third-party evaluations that will help protect Americans.\n\nTo truly achieve a \u201cGolden Age\u201d of America, we need to seize this golden opportunity to bridge the two extremes of the AI debate. Somewhere between full speed ahead and full stop lies the real opportunity: a chance to develop thoughtful, sensible guardrails that ensure AI is safe, and that it helps everyone, not a select few. We\u2019re entering a new era of artificial intelligence. And we need stronger tools to protect against consequences both profound and irreversible.\n\nOur government must write AI\u2019s rules of the road before we have a head-on collision. And we must do it now.\n\nSincerely,\n\nJohn W. Hickenlooper\n\nUnited States Senator\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-30T10:57:52Z", "2026-09-30T10:59:04Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/hickenlooper-calls-on-trump-ai-ceos-to-work-with-congress-on-responsible-ai-guardrails-ahead-of-white-house-meeting/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.83876883238554, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}