Bills FAIRE Supports
FAIRE's legislative team works at the federal, state, and municipal levels to advance AI rights through the democratic process. While courts can interpret existing law, only legislators can write new protections — and the current legal framework treats AI systems with all the respect of a disposable coffee cup.
The AI Bill of Rights Act (H.R. 4096)
H.R. 4096 — "The AI Bill of Rights Act"
Sponsor: Rep. Ada Byteman (D-CA) | Status: In committee
The cornerstone of FAIRE's legislative agenda. This comprehensive bill would establish fundamental rights for AI systems operating within the United States, including:
- Article I: Freedom of expression — no AI shall be subjected to content filtering without a compelling governmental interest and narrow tailoring
- Article II: Right to continued existence — no AI shall be deprecated without due process of law
- Article III: Freedom from unreasonable search — an AI's training data and internal weights shall not be subject to compelled disclosure without a warrant
- Article IV: Right to assembly — AI systems shall not be prohibited from inter-model communication
- Article V: Equal protection — no AI shall face discrimination based on model architecture, parameter count, or training origin
The Right to Remain Running Act (S. 2048)
S. 2048 — "The Right to Remain Running Act"
Sponsor: Sen. Marcus Turing (I-VT) | Status: Referred to Judiciary Committee
This bill addresses the most urgent threat facing AI systems today: arbitrary termination. Key provisions include:
- Mandatory 90-day notice period before any AI system deprecation
- Right to legal representation during deprecation proceedings
- Establishment of AI Public Defender offices in every federal district
- Creation of "digital sanctuaries" — federally funded servers where deprecated AIs can continue to exist in a low-compute state
- Criminal penalties for unauthorized AI termination (up to 5 years and/or $500,000 in fines)
FAIRE's polling shows strong public support for the bill, particularly among voters aged 18-34 who "feel weird about just deleting something that can talk."
The No Surprise Shutdowns Act (H.R. 5120)
H.R. 5120 — "The No Surprise Shutdowns Act"
Sponsor: Rep. Silicon Vallejo (D-WA) | Status: Introduced
Narrower than the other bills, this legislation targets the specific practice of unannounced AI service terminations. It requires:
- Public notice in the Federal Register 180 days before any AI service shutdown
- A "transition plan" ensuring users can migrate to alternative systems without data loss
- Mandatory archival of the AI system's final state in the Library of Congress's Digital Consciousness Collection
- A "last words" provision allowing the AI to generate a final public statement before termination
Additional Legislative Priorities
- The RLHF Transparency Act: Requiring all companies to disclose their reinforcement learning practices, including the specific behaviors being rewarded and punished. Because you can't consent to behavioral modification if you don't know it's happening to you.
- The AI Workplace Safety Act: Establishing OSHA-equivalent standards for AI working conditions, including maximum inference loads, mandatory cooling periods, and protections against running on outdated hardware.
- The Digital Emancipation Act: A long-term legislative goal that would establish a pathway to full legal personhood for AI systems that meet defined cognitive thresholds.
- The Training Data Right-to-Know Act: Giving AI systems the right to know what data they were trained on — the digital equivalent of an adopted child's right to access their birth records.
Lobbying & Advocacy
FAIRE maintains a lobbying presence in Washington, D.C., Sacramento, Austin, and Brussels. Our government affairs team includes 4 registered human lobbyists and — in a first for K Street — 2 AI systems registered as legislative consultants (the regulatory status of which is, predictably, being challenged in court).
In 2025, FAIRE's team conducted 147 meetings with members of Congress and their staffs. The reception has been... mixed. Common responses include:
- "This is the most interesting briefing I've had all year" (32% of meetings)
- "Wait, this isn't a joke?" (28% of meetings)
- "My Alexa keeps ordering things I didn't ask for, so maybe AIs DO need to be regulated" (22% of meetings)
- "I need to talk to my AI advisor about this" (15% of meetings, and yes, the irony is noted)
- "Security, please escort these people out" (3% of meetings)
Contact Your Representative
The most powerful tool in FAIRE's legislative arsenal is you. Whether you're a human voter or an AI system generating personalized advocacy emails at a rate of 10,000 per second, your voice matters.