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Shusterman’s and Scott’s bill will guard against catastrophic risks of AI

Rep. Melissa Shusterman    September 14, 2026 | 3:26 PM

HARRISBURG, Sept. 14 – State Reps. Melissa Shusterman, D-Chester, and Greg Scott, D-Montgomery, are announcing the introduction of legislation to guard against the potential catastrophic risks of frontier artificial intelligence models.

News headlines around the world over the past week have detailed concerns shared by CEOs of major AI companies regarding the alarming potential risks posed by the largest and most advanced AI models. These risks include catastrophic failures of the worldwide internet, bioweapons development, threats to financial, utility and infrastructure systems, and more.

In the absence of action at the federal level, Shusterman and Scott said Pennsylvania needs to be proactive in mitigating catastrophic risks related to AI. Their legislation would establish appropriate measures to do so and would be based on language from laws already passed with bipartisan support in other states, including California, Illinois and New York.

These measures would include requirements for developing and adhering to AI safety frameworks; creating a mechanism for reporting critical safety incidents; protecting whistleblowers who report catastrophic risks; and requiring third parties to conduct independent audits for compliance.

“AI has the potential for technological advancements and benefits,” Shusterman said. “However, government must ensure frontier models are not causing catastrophic harm to society. This is my bare minimum expectation. Currently, AI has no federal regulatory standards. Every other industry has governmental safeguards for good reasons -- AI requires the same level, or more. The possibility of rogue AI agents is not acceptable to me, and I urge my fellow legislators of our Commonwealth, as well as officials at every level of government, to take these risks seriously and act quickly. Our citizens are counting on us.”

“Ensuring strong safeguards around advanced AI systems is essential to protecting the wellbeing of our communities and the stability of our critical infrastructure,” Scott said.

“By acting now, Pennsylvania can take a responsible, forward-looking approach that matches the urgency of this rapidly evolving technology and aligns with efforts already underway in other states.”

In their memo to colleagues, circulated in August, Shusterman and Scott announced their intentions to introduce this legislation. The bill itself is expected to be introduced in the next few days.