Illinois Legislature passes historic AI bill that would require third-party safety audits

The Illinois House of Representatives passed a landmark bill Wednesday that would set a new standard for regulating America’s leading AI companies if Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) signs it. The bill, SB 315, mirrors existing provisions in legislation in California and New York requiring frontier AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to create, publish, and annually update plans to address severe or catastrophic risks from their AI models. It would also mandate annual independent third-party audits of such AI companies on safety issues, which would be a first for any AI legislation in the U.S. “Artificial intelligence technology is among the most significant innovations, in my opinion, in the history of humanity,” said Rep Daniel Didech (D-IL), the sponsor of the bill in the Illinois House. Sen Mary Edly-Allen (D-IL) sponsored the bill in the Illinois Senate.