Nancy Pelosi’s replacement is ready to regulate AI

California state senator Scott Wiener, who won the San Francisco congressional seat vacated by Nancy Pelosi, authored SB 1047 (vetoed by Gavin Newsom) and SB 53 (signed), and says he wants Congress to act decisively on AI risk, citing a METR report on recursive self-improvement. He supports a strong federal AI regulator, whistleblower protections, testing and auditing requirements, and a kill switch, opposes broad federal preemption of state AI laws, and says he is only "cautiously optimistic" about Congress reining in AI.