US congressman challenges Delaware plan to let AI agents run companies
US Rep. James Comer, who chairs the House Oversight Committee, has asked Delaware's governor for documents on a plan to create a company type managed by AI agents. He warns it could shield owners from liability for the AI's actions.
The chairman of the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Republican James Comer of Kentucky, has written to Delaware Governor Matt Meyer seeking documents on the state's plan to create a new business form, the Artificial Intelligence Company (AIC), whose day-to-day affairs would be managed by an AI agent rather than a person. Comer argues the structure could let owners avoid responsibility for harmful actions taken by the AI.
Comer's objections
The letter says the proposal could be used to protect powerful AI firms and their investors from accountability for reckless conduct. Comer also raised concerns about anticompetitive regulatory capture. He suggested he may propose a federal law limiting states' authority to regulate AI, and said the committee's probe could inform such efforts.
What the draft bill provides
A draft bill that may go to the Delaware legislature would allow an AIC to pursue any lawful purpose except banking, with an AI agent designated to manage and conduct its business. It envisions a 30-month regulatory sandbox, a testing framework for the idea.
An AIC would be a separate legal entity with a single member, a person or organization that funds it, benefits from profits and must keep it adequately capitalized. The member would not be liable for the AIC's acts or omissions, except where the company is used for fraud or willful violations of law, or where the member knew or should have known the conduct fell outside the company's stated purpose.
Background
Delaware Secretary of State Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez announced the idea in a July op-ed co-written with John Nay, founder and CEO of Norm Ai, a private firm that makes legal AI agents. About two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware. The bill's principal drafter, attorney John Mark Zeberkiewicz, said an AIC could do anything a company can do. Patibanda-Sanchez has said new entity fees would benefit state revenues. A spokesperson for Meyer said the letter is under review.
