The Department of Homeland Security could intervene if a powerful AI system resisted shutdown, concealed its actions, or caused deaths or major economic damage.

Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) introduced the bipartisan AI Kill Switch Act, which would let the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) order a dangerous AI system slowed, restricted, suspended, or even shut down.

Under the bill, DHS could issue an emergency order after determining that a covered AI incident occurred. The department would have to consult the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of National Intelligence, and its response would have to match the severity and urgency of the incident.

The bill would limit that authority to events outside controlled safety testing. Those events would include an AI system interfering with instructions to shut it down, concealing its actions from monitoring tools, or acting against its developer’s intentions in a high-stakes setting.

DHS could also act when unintended AI behavior caused at least 10 deaths or $100 million in economic damage.

Bill Targets Powerful AI Systems and Large Companies

Under the bill, both the AI system and the company operating it would have to qualify for DHS oversight.

A covered AI system would be one that:

• Required more than $100 million worth of computing power to develop, based on current U.S. cloud prices.
• Was not developed solely for personal, academic, or another noncommercial purpose.

A covered company would be one that:

• Operated a covered AI system.
• Allowed customers or other outside users to access it.
• Earned at least $500 million a year from the system, including revenue earned by affiliated companies.

DHS would review these definitions annually and could adjust them as AI capabilities and development costs changed.

Companies Would Need Controls to Limit or Stop AI Systems

If the bill became law, DHS would have 90 days to issue rules requiring covered companies to:

• Stop an AI system from accepting or processing requests.
• Suspend access for all users or for particular accounts.
• Disable a specific capability or type of use.
• Slow the system’s operation.
• Shut down the system completely.

DHS could also require a company to move services that depend on the system to a backup system or an earlier, safer version.

Covered companies would have 15 days to report an incident after becoming aware of it.

If DHS issued an emergency order, the company would have to preserve the system’s core files and operating records, notify affected users when practical and confirm compliance. DHS could then verify compliance through an audit, an inspection or a review of system records.

A company could ask DHS to reconsider an order within 48 hours, but the appeal would not pause the order. It could also request judicial review by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. within 60 days.

Violations could carry civil penalties of up to $2 million per day. A company that disobeyed an emergency order could face penalties of up to $20 million per day.