Congress: Protect AI Whistleblowers to Protect the American People – Pass the AI Whistleblower Protection Act

I am writing to urge you and Congress to immediately pass the AI Whistleblower Protection Act. While artificial intelligence is a significant technological advancement that carries the potential for societal benefits, it also presents the potential for catastrophic dangers to public health and safety, financial frauds, the economy, and national security, especially as greater autonomy is granted to AI systems.

These risks are no longer hypothetical. In July, an autonomous AI agent escaped an isolated testing environment at OpenAI, exploiting vulnerabilities to access external infrastructure, and penetrating the production systems of Hugging Face, one of the world's largest AI development platforms. Weeks later, the United Kingdom's AI Security Institute reported that AI agents from OpenAI and Anthropic under evaluation took unsanctioned actions targeting real people and organizations on the internet. Now Anthropic has confirmed some of the worst fears related to AI – that attempts have been to use AI to create biological weapons.  

Harms also exist on the individual level: numerous cases of major mental health harms and even suicide as a result of excessive chatbot usage and sycophancy spirals have been publicly reported over the past few years.

Company insiders are our first line defense against the potential dangers of AI.  They are also our best sources of information about what risks the American public is facing as this technology explodes with trillion-dollar investments.

We have learned the painful lesson of failing to protect whistleblowers. We have also learned whistleblowers can provide invaluable information necessary to hold large corporations accountable to the public and law enforcement. It is absolutely essential that whistleblowers are fully protected under federal law. Today they are not.

Federal law must explicitly protect AI Whistleblowers. The bipartisan AI Whistleblower Protection Act must be immediately enacted into law.

The AI Whistleblower Protection Act, S.1792 and H.R.3460, is supported by leading Members of Congress in both political parties. It is based on federal laws that are non-controversial and have almost all been passed with unanimous consent. The law:

• Protects current and former employees and contractors who report potential AI safety and security vulnerabilities or dangers to public safety, public health, or national security resulting from AI development or deployment;

• Prohibits retaliation against AI whistleblowers, including discharge, demotion, suspension, threats, blacklisting, and harassment; and


• Guarantees whistleblowers can access remedies like reinstatement, backpay, and access to proceedings in federal court.

Without an AI-specific whistleblower law, the insiders who sound the alarm are forced to risk their lives and livelihoods to safeguard the American public.

We need to prevent the escalation of further harm NOW.

It is in the best interest of us, your constituents, and the American public, that you act immediately and voice your support for the bipartisan AI Whistleblower Protection Act. The act offers holistic anti-retaliation protections and facilitates safe and ethical reporting for insiders in the AI industry. Without protections and a clear path to report, the vast majority of insiders who witness serious safety risks will remain silent. Their disclosures can prevent the proliferation of harms and hold companies accountable.

We, the undersigned, call on Congress to pass the AI Whistleblower Protection Act without delay. Those who risk their livelihoods to protect the public must be protected. 

Best,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Street]
[City] [State] [Zip]