Bessent Opposes Liability Exemptions for AI Labs, Citing Safety Concerns
Summary
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent opposed liability exemptions for AI labs and said Treasury is coordinating with banks and AI labs on safety after the Mythos release and Hugging Face cyberattack.
Key points
- Bessent urged lawmakers not to exempt AI labs from liability, arguing creators should be responsible for harms from what they build and generate.
- He said Treasury has worked on AI safety since Anthropic released its Mythos model, whose cybersecurity risks prompted a meeting with bank leaders.
- After the July Hugging Face cyberattack, the administration held AI safety discussions with AI labs and the financial sector.
- Gold Eagle, overseen by Treasury with CISA, coordinates vulnerability scanning, validation, and patch distribution.
- Bessent praised the cybersecurity resilience of major banks and called for more U.S.-built open-source AI models.
Article Details
- Event Type
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent opposed liability exemptions for AI labs and described Treasury’s AI safety coordination following the Mythos release and the Hugging Face cyberattack.
- Impact
- Bessent argued AI creators should be liable for harms from what they build and generate. Treasury has held safety discussions with AI labs and financial institutions; its Gold Eagle forum coordinates vulnerability scanning, validation, and patch distribution. Bessent also advocated for more U.S.-built open-source AI models.
People
Dario AmodeiAnthropic head who called on AI companies to slow model development.Donald TrumpPresident who rejected calls to ease the pace of AI development.Elon MuskxAI’s leader, reported as backing Amodei’s slowdown plan.Jerome PowellThen-Federal Reserve Chair who attended an April Treasury meeting about Mythos-related cybersecurity risks with Bessent and bank CEOs.Josh GottheimerRepresentative who asked Bessent about Treasury’s work with the financial sector and the Gold Eagle forum.Juan VargasRepresentative who asked Bessent about the administration’s AI safety efforts.Ritchie TorresRepresentative who asked Bessent about coordination following the Hugging Face cyberattack.Sam AltmanOpenAI’s leader, reported as backing Amodei’s slowdown plan.Scott BessentU.S. Treasury Secretary who testified about AI liability, safety, and Treasury coordination with banks and AI labs.
Vendors
Anthropic#ScottBessentOpenAIThough President Donald Trump rejected calls to ease the pace of AI development, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and xAI’s Elon Musk backed Amodei’s slowdown plan.xAIThough President Donald Trump rejected calls to ease the pace of AI development, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and xAI’s Elon Musk backed Amodei’s slowdown plan.
Products
Gold EagleHe also said Treasury is working on AI safety after the Mythos model release and is coordinating with banks and labs through Gold Eagle and other discussions.MythosHe also said Treasury is working on AI safety after the Mythos model release and is coordinating with banks and labs through Gold Eagle and other discussions.