Anthropic opposes Illinois AI bill backed by OpenAI on liability

In short: Anthropic says an Illinois bill backed by OpenAI would too strongly protect AI companies from being sued after major harms.

What happened

Anthropic has come out against a proposed Illinois law called SB 3444. The bill is backed by OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. It would limit when AI labs can be held legally responsible if their AI tools are used to cause extreme harm.

The bill focuses on worst-case events, like mass deaths or more than $1 billion in property damage. Under SB 3444, an AI lab generally would not be liable if someone used its AI model (the core system, like the “engine” inside an AI tool) to cause that harm, as long as the lab wrote its own safety plan and posted it online.

People familiar with the discussions told WIRED that Anthropic has been lobbying Illinois Senator Bill Cunningham, the bill’s sponsor, and other state lawmakers. Anthropic confirmed it opposes SB 3444 and said it has had “promising conversations” with Cunningham about changing it.

OpenAI has argued the bill could reduce the risk of serious harm while still letting Illinois residents and businesses use AI. Some policy experts told WIRED the bill has only a remote chance of becoming law, but it highlights a growing split between two major AI companies.

Why it matters

This debate is about a simple question: if an AI tool is misused, who pays for the damage? Liability works like financial responsibility after an accident. Critics say SB 3444 could weaken one of the main ways the legal system pushes companies to act carefully, especially when the possible harms are very large.

Source: Wired