House Dems call for AI companies to testify on recent hacks: ‘Clear risk to safety’

A group of House Democrats is calling for the leaders of OpenAI, Anthropic and other major AI companies to testify before Congress following a spate of hacking incidents that the lawmakers say “have serious implications for Americans’ safety and security.”

“Unfortunately, Congress has so far completely failed to respond to the threats posed by AI development,” the lawmakers wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in a letter, a copy of which was shared exclusively with CNBC.

“That must change,” they wrote in the letter sent Monday. “The CEOs of the largest AI companies should answer questions under oath, and Americans should have a chance to hear from independent experts on the dangers posed by this technology.”

The letter comes after a series of cyber breaches in recent weeks have been carried out by models developed by OpenAI and Anthropic, prompting a fresh wave of concern around advanced AI systems and their potential to cause harm.

The lawmakers called those incidents “serious” and cautioned they “may be the canary in the coal mine warning of much more serious problems if these models continue to advance without regulation.”

They wrote they’d like to see AI executives testify “about the causes of these incidents, what failures or potential negligence at the companies led to them, and the types of regulation required to make sure they never happen again.”

The hacking incidents have intensified the debate around whether and what action Washington should take to rein in artificial intelligence. President Donald Trump has said he’d like to see “guardrails” around the technology but that too much action could hinder U.S. companies’ ability to compete against China. Congress so far has done little by way of AI regulation.

The Democrats signing the letter have no power on their own to compel AI CEOs to come to testify on Capitol Hill. But their calls to Johnson suggest broadening interest within the party at least on bringing executives in for a hearing.

The letter was led by Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Most of the signatories are from the progressive wing of the party, though some, including Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-Md., are seen as more centrist.