HUDSON VALLEY- Congressman Mike Lawler has announced legislation that would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop national standards, guidelines, and best practices for discovering, verifying, monitoring, and controlling AI agents.
The 17th District Republican who represents constituents in all of Putnam and Rockland Counties in addition to sections of Dutchess and Westchester joined Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey at a news conference that highlighted their Stop Rogue AI Act on Thursday.
The legislation comes as AI agents become increasingly capable of acting autonomously, with recent incidents highlighting concerns about AI systems accessing external networks and taking actions beyond their intended scope.
Lawler stressed that his bill was not about “stopping AI or stifling innovation. It is about making sure we can safely deploy AI. A pause is not a safeguard. Some states have put a moratorium on the infrastructure that powers this technology. That does not invent a kill switch. It does not inventory the agents already on a hospital network or a utility system.”
Lawler went on: “If the United States taps the brakes while others floor it, we do not get safer AI. We get someone else’s AI. We are not going to regulate ourselves into second place.”
The bill would also require federal agencies and contractors to incorporate safeguards into how they procure and deploy AI coordinating with existing cybersecurity guidance.
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