Tags: Illinois

Anthropic has formally rejected Illinois Senate Bill 3444, a proposal that would shield AI developers from liability for large‑scale harms such as mass casualties or billion‑dollar property losses. The bill, championed by state Senator Bill Cunningham and supported by OpenAI, would exempt labs that publish safety frameworks from responsibility if their models are misused. Anthropic’s U.S. state‑government liaison, Cesar Fernandez, called the measure a “get‑out‑of‑jail‑free card,” urging instead for transparency paired with real accountability. Illinois officials, including Governor JB Pritzker’s office, have signaled they will monitor the legislation but are wary of granting blanket immunity. Read more

OpenAI testified in favor of Illinois Senate Bill 3444, which would protect developers of frontier AI models from civil liability for "critical harms" such as mass casualties or billion‑dollar property damage, provided they publish safety reports and avoid reckless conduct. The legislation defines a frontier model as one trained with over $100 million in compute costs and aims to create uniform standards while limiting state‑by‑state regulatory patches. Critics warn the bill could reduce accountability, but OpenAI argues it balances safety with innovation. Read more

Google has confirmed that its AI-powered Ask Photos feature is currently unavailable to users in Texas and Illinois. The company cited ongoing efforts to determine how to expand access, while industry observers link the restriction to recent state settlements over biometric data collection in Google Photos. Both Ask Photos and the related Conversational Editing tool rely on facial recognition, which raises legal challenges under state privacy laws that require explicit consent from subjects captured in photos. Read more

Kat Abughazaleh, a 26‑year‑old social‑media creator known for viral political videos, has entered the race for Illinois’s Ninth Congressional District. Leveraging her online following, she has raised substantial grassroots donations and positioned herself as a fierce opponent of right‑wing narratives. The race, originally framed as a showdown with longtime incumbent Jan Schakowsky, has transformed into a crowded progressive primary after Schakowsky announced her retirement. Abughazaleh now faces multiple Democratic contenders, including state legislators and other young activists, while continuing a mutual‑aid‑focused ground campaign. Read more