Brian Peters

Policy at @AnthropicAI.

[Brad Carson @bradrcarson]

Today, Anthropic released its Advanced AI Framework (link in next post). I wanted to offer my take on the document, as a lot of people and several reporters have asked for my assessment.

In sum, on the questions that matter most to ARI, Anthropic made the right calls and pushed the debate forward productively. Let me walk through what we see as necessary parts of a frontier AI regulation and compare to the Anthropic plan.

Safety plans need to be evaluated by an independent entity, which could be an IVO but could also (more likely in at least the early days) be the government itself. This is in the Anthropic plan. ✅

The review by the independent entity must be more than a compliance exercise that just checks if the test the lab wrote and graded was in fact written and graded; it must be an independent substantive assessment of safety. This is in the Anthropic plan. ✅

The government must have the ability to prevent release of dangerous models. This is in the Anthropic plan. ✅

The government must have the ability to recall models whose dangerous capabilities are revealed only after deployment. This is Anthropic's plan. ✅

And very significantly, the preemption language offered up by Anthropic for consideratoin explicitly limits federal displacement to the specific frontier governance functions Congress has chosen to occupy — catastrophic risk testing, evaluator licensing, closely related reporting. Outside those functions, federal law cannot occupy the field, cannot preempt by implication, and cannot displace state statutory or common-law claims. States keep their authority over civil rights, child safety, labor, consumer protection, and tort law. Ambiguity is resolved in favor of state authority, not federal displacement. ✅

Just as importantly, the framework says that federal compliance does not create immunity, a safe harbor, or a presumption against liability under state law. That one sentence closes a door that opponents of accountability have been trying to open for years. ✅

I'm often asked, "What kind of preemption language would you ever support at ARI?" The language that is in the Anthropic proposal is what we like if preemption is insisted upon: narrow in fact, clear about limits, comprehensive in its instructions to courts about what is still permissible at the state level (basically everything from child safety to labor issues to CSAM screening to training data transparency and more) except the specified regulation of cyber, bio, loss of control for a few models). This is the kind of preemption language that should be in, say, the Trahan-Obernolte bill or any other frontier AI law, if any state laws are to be preempted. I hope Congress takes note.

The plan has more about cybersecurity and biosecurity, which I'll comment more on later. But wanted to offer this quick take on how I evaluate the safety provisions and the preemption language.

[Dario Amodei @DarioAmodei]

Today I'm publishing a new essay, Policy on the AI Exponential. AI is progressing extremely fast—much faster than the policy process was built to handle. The essay lays out where I think the technology is now, and the action needed to close the gap: https://t.co/Lh6PWae178

[Chris Olah @ch402]

https://t.co/udIVxLdid5

[Brian Peters @Peters_DC]

Stark choice

[Anthropic @AnthropicAI]

We've published a paper that explains our views on AI competition between the US and China.

The US and democratic allies hold the lead in frontier AI today. Read more on what it’ll take to keep that lead: https://t.co/TgJBeodWYK

[Jack Clark @jackclarkSF]

I've spent the past few weeks reading 100s of public data sources about AI development. I now believe that recursive self-improvement has a 60% chance of happening by the end of 2028. In other words, AI systems might soon be capable of building themselves.

[Anthropic @AnthropicAI]

Last month, we published our look into what 81,000 people told us they want from AI.

In new research, we’ve investigated the economic hopes and worries referenced in their responses.

Read more: https://t.co/PtKjamGmfg

[Sarah Heck @SarahKHeck]

This is an important move from @WHOSTP director @mkratsios47. Industrial-scale distillation attacks are a serious national security threat. We need to have more of a spotlight on this issue, and look forward to continuing to collaborate on maintaining American AI leadership.

[Anthropic @AnthropicAI]

A statement on the comments from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

https://t.co/Gg7Zb09IMR

[Anthropic @AnthropicAI]

A statement from Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, on our discussions with the Department of War.

https://t.co/rM77LJejuk

[Anthropic @AnthropicAI]

On December 8, the Perseverance rover safely trundled across the surface of Mars.

This was the first AI-planned drive on another planet. And it was planned by Claude.

[Simon Taylor @sytaylor]

@collision @gdb This is glorious

[Zach Abrams @zcabrams]

in 5 years the majority of the world's global payment volume will move through stablecoin rails. this legislation will be a critical enabler.

[Financial Technology Association @fintechassoc]

We applaud Governor Michelle "Miki" Bowman’s nomination to serve as Vice Chair for Supervision for the @federalreserve Board, a critical position shaping financial regulatory policy.

Governor Bowman will bring the right mix of expertise, pragmatism, and a pro-innovation mindset to this role, and we share her commitment to a risk-based, fit-for-purpose approach to digital financial products.

We urge the Senate to act speedily on her confirmation.

https://t.co/9mnb3Qi3dN

[Brian Peters @Peters_DC]

Vertical SaaS is how we ensure that SMBs fully benefit from software, the internet, and AI. This in turn highlights why internet-native, programmable financial services are so important: they’re the foundation that vertical SaaS platforms need to flourish.

[Brian Peters @Peters_DC]

Policy friends, Stripe's annual letter is very well worth a read!

[Patrick Collison @patrickc]

We just published Stripe's annual letter.

[Brian Peters @Peters_DC]

Businesses simply start making more money when they switch to Stripe. And our support of SaaS platforms is helping 60% more American small businesses earn $1 million in total revenue in their first year.

[John Collison @collision]

We just published Stripe's annual letter with a bunch of details on what drove 38% payment volume growth in 2024 including enterprise adoption, the AI economy, Vertical SaaS, and more. (Plus some discussion of upcoming trends like stablecoins.)

[Graham Novak (📜,📜) @gnovak_]

@DGorfine @giancarloMKTS @Peters_DC @MilkenInstitute This is a fantastic read. You guys absolutely nail it, I love to see this and can't wait to see this translated into action and policy

[Financial Technology Association @fintechassoc]

In the U.S., leading payment firms cannot settle transactions directly through the Federal Reserve.

This slows down payments and raises costs for consumers, small businesses, and start-ups.

We need a new approach that integrates non-banks more fully into our national payment system.

An optional federal payments charter will keep the U.S. competitive and foster innovation.

Learn more in this smart white paper in @MilkenReview from @DGorfine of #GattacaHorizons, @Peters_DC of @stripe, and J Christopher Giancarlo.

https://t.co/FEJwNS9qhp