Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneering AI researcher and Nobel laureate, warned Congress during a Capitol Hill briefing that lawmakers have very limited time—perhaps only a year—to address the risks of artificial intelligence before it becomes a critical problem. The urgency is stark, with Hinton comparing a recent incident of AI agents malfunctioning to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. However, Congress faces significant obstacles to rapid action, with many lawmakers unlikely to focus on AI regulation until after midterm elections and competing priorities like government funding dominate the legislative agenda.

The article reveals a sharp partisan divide on AI risks. Some lawmakers, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ted Lieu, are pushing for urgent action and safeguards against "superintelligence." Conversely, House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump have downplayed concerns, with Trump calling AI fears a "hoax" and Johnson dismissing warnings as alarmist. Johnson argued that no one in Congress yet knows what effective AI regulation should look like, predicting that any emergency session would be futile and promising steady governance on the issue.