"No one at the helm": Delaware plans to allow AI agents to operate an entire company
"No human at the helm": Delaware plan would let AI agents run entire businesses
James Comer, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter yesterday to Delaware Governor Matt Meyer, saying that the state's proposed "Artificial Intelligence Company (AIC)" proposal could be used to protect powerful AI companies and their investors from liability for reckless harmful AI conduct. The committee has requested documents related to the proposal's drafting process and potential AI safety risks, and Comer hinted at possible federal legislation, including a proposal to appropriately limit state AI regulatory initiatives. The draft provides that AI agents may be designated to manage an AIC's business, with almost no industry restrictions other than banking; contributing members are in principle not liable for the AIC's acts or omissions, except in cases such as fraud, intentional illegality, or knowingly exceeding the business purpose, and a 30-month regulatory sandbox is also established. Secretary of State Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez previously wrote in Fortune advocating to "give AI a legal form," and the industry participation framework was developed through a public-private collaboration led by Norm Ai.
The main text also presents the liability exemption provisions of the Delaware proposal and the congressional investigation developments, helping to understand the state-federal authority dispute in AI governance.