House Oversight Chair Questions Delaware's AI-Run Company Plan
Rep. James Comer asked Gov. Matt Meyer for documents on a proposed legal entity managed by an AI agent, warning it could shield owners from liability.
US Rep. James Comer has asked Delaware to hand over documents on a plan to let companies be run by AI agents. In a letter to Governor Matt Meyer, the Kentucky Republican, who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said the proposal would help human owners evade responsibility for reckless and harmful actions by the AI.
The planned entity is called an Artificial Intelligence Company, or AIC. Comer wrote that it could be used "to protect powerful AI companies and their investors from responsibility for reckless harmful actions". He also raised concern about "non-transparent forces seeking anticompetitive regulatory capture behind state AI initiatives". He suggested the probe could inform federal legislation to limit states' AI regulatory authority.
What the draft bill says
An AIC could have any lawful purpose except banking. A draft bill that may go to the state legislature says AI agents could be designated to manage its business and affairs. It would have a single member, a person or an entity, responsible for keeping it adequately capitalised, and it would have to keep a log of its activities.
The member would not be liable for what the AIC does or fails to do. Exceptions cover fraud and willful violations of law, and cases where the member knew or should have known the company was acting outside its stated purpose.
The bill proposes a "regulatory sandbox" lasting 30 months. Its principal drafter, corporate attorney John Mark Zeberkiewicz, has said the measure could allow AI agents to take on almost any business activity, from coding services to signing contracts or filing lawsuits. Legislation is likely to be introduced next year, according to a June report by Spotlight Delaware.
Backers and critics
Delaware Secretary of State Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez announced the idea in a July op-ed in Fortune, written with John Nay, founder and CEO of Norm Ai. She wrote that the answer is "to wrap AI in legal form". The state would also earn fees from forming such companies, she said in June. Delaware formed 334,461 new entities in 2025, and about two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated there.
A spokesperson for Meyer said the office has received the letter and is reviewing it. A spokesperson for Patibanda-Sanchez declined to comment.
UC Berkeley law professor Andrew Baker told the Financial Times the plan looks like "an overly generous liability shield". Martin Petrin of York University told Bloomberg that other states will likely follow with similar proposals, and that a federal framework could help address safety concerns.
Source: Ars Technica