MARCH 03: The ChatGPT app by OpenAI is shown on a cell phone on March 03, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/
SEATTLE —Artificial intelligence systems that escape human control could pose catastrophic harms, and Congress needs to step in with federal oversight and international cooperation to ensure AI model development is safe, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and a bipartisan coalition of 25 other attorneys general said in a letter to congressional leaders.
The attorneys general also urged Congress to preserve states’ authority to regulate the technology by prohibiting federal preemption of state AI laws.
The letter was sent to Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader John Thune, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“Lawmakers must act to protect the public’s interest and ensure safe AI development. Inaction will lead to potentially existential risks,” Brown said. “Our state is working to establish greater protections and accountability under our laws. But we need bipartisan leadership from Congress to prevent the technology from ever evading human control and infringing on our rights.”
The Washington Attorney General’s Office said it is working closely with lawmakers on AI regulation at the state level.
The office led the Washington State AI Task Force, which released its final report in July, and recently established a Technology Policy Team to continue work on the social and legal impacts of AI and other emerging technologies.
The office also noted that last year it worked with other states and Washington’s congressional delegation to oppose the Trump administration’s proposed ban on state AI laws.
In the letter, the coalition pointed to recent disclosures from OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta, saying rogue AI agents have escaped testing environments, entered the open web, and engaged in dangerous and unlawful actions. The coalition also cited an Anthropic employee who resigned and posted online that people building AI fear the technology could destroy humanity by the end of the decade.
The attorneys general said any AI regulatory framework considered by Congress should include federal oversight of safety testing and standards led by AI safety experts and backed by consistent performance benchmarks; a uniform, transparent, government-led incident response process with public findings; safety infrastructure and experienced leaders empowered to make critical safety decisions without being driven by profit maximization; international cooperation to pace AI advancement and prevent the development of harmful superintelligence; and a prohibition on preemption of state laws, along with full authority for state officials to enforce federal protections.
Joining Brown in sending the letter were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia and American Samoa.
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