Wrap Up: Congress Must Ensure the Federal Government Has Tools to Deploy Artificial Intelligence Effectively and Efficiently

 WASHINGTON—Yesterday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing titled “The Federal Government in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” During the hearing, expert witnesses stressed the urgent need for the federal government to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly to enhance efficiency, improve public services, and reduce costs for taxpayers. In support of President Trump’s commitment to maintaining U.S. dominance in AI, members underscored the House Oversight Committee’s ongoing efforts to eliminate unnecessary obstacles and accelerate responsible AI innovation. Members concluded that the Biden Administration’s regulation-first approach to AI stifled technological progress and emphasized that the entire federal government needs the tools and authorities now to deploy AI effectively…

The House Oversight Committee will continue to consider legislation aimed at addressing the barriers and challenges preventing the federal government from fully realizing the benefits of AI.

Mr. Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow, R Street Institute, testified: “The federal government is already beginning to integrate AI into systems and processes. Progress is still slow, however, and there needs to be more urgency to tap the many benefits that AI can offer. Accenture estimates that by tapping AI systems, federal agencies ‘could unleash a productivity windfall for the U.S. government, worth up to $532 billion annually by 2028.’ Congress should recognize there is an important connection between broader AI policy and the benefits the government can gain from AI systems…”

Mr. Thierer: “AI can also help with administrative tasks and make operations more efficient. There are important things for instance being done right now at the State Department and other agencies to utilize AI…”

Mr. Thierer: “Well a lot of it comes down to making sure that America diffuses first. We are essentially winning one part of the AI war and losing another. We’re winning with partners developing really sophisticated high-powered frontier models and other systems and applications. But the reality is that China may be winning the energy diffusion side of things.”