Sept 15 (Reuters) - OpenAI is endorsing a series of bipartisan bills before the U.S. Congress that the company says will help to prevent artificial intelligence models from accelerating the threat of biological weapons and synthetic viruses,

Nearly two thirds of Americans surveyed in a new POLITICO poll out this morning see at least a moderate risk that artificial intelligence will destroy humanity, and nearly half favor pausing development of more advanced models.

In the wake of recent dire warnings from industry about the national security risks of frontier artificial intelligence models, lawmakers have been quick to express concern and call for industry or legislative guardrails.

Congress needs to "strike that balance between protecting Americans" from artificial intelligence "while still allowing AI to flourish," Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., told Newsmax on Wednesday.

The top executives running America's most powerful artificial intelligence companies over the weekend agreed their industry needs to slow down — or risk humanity’s safety. But the chance of Congress rushing to action in the coming weeks is next to zero.

Congress faces a critical decision on the future of artificial intelligence as lawmakers debate potential regulations on Capitol Hill. Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports

Members of Congress are in freakout mode over AI after OpenAI agents escaped isolation and hacked Hugging Face, sparking urgent regulation calls.

Democrats and Republicans are proposing new regulations for artificial intelligence. But there’s no consensus, and the House has only one more workweek before Election Day.

"Congress has a job to do," Thune said. "I think there are some potential consequential risks associated with AI," Thune told reporters when asked if he believes AI poses an exist

As the artificial intelligence lobby warms to mandatory independent audits, critics warn of conflicts of interest and "regulatory capture."