Shutdown could delay Congress ‘getting serious’ about AI policy

“The federal shutdown will affect a lot of ongoing and important legislative activity, and for AI policy it means further delay in Congress getting serious about creating a national policy framework,” Adam Thierer, a senior research fellow at the R Street Institute, told Nextgov/FCW.

Some of the stalled bills include the landmark annual defense policy bill — the National Defense Authorization Act — along with more specific policy bills, such as the AI sandbox proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and the AI risk evaluation bill led by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., among others…

Other experts, such as Thierer, worry over the potential regulatory patchwork that could bloom absent sweeping federal AI law. 

State legislatures, on the other hand, had a busy year when it came to AI regulatory legislation. Although many are now out of session, Albright said that he expects legislatures in states like California and Colorado –– both of whom have passed sweeping AI legislation this year –– to be comparably busy with AI next year. 

“If the Congress cannot get back in action soon and get something done, it effectively means that Democratic governors will be setting AI policy for the nation through a Blue State regulatory patchwork that is inspired by the old Biden AI agenda, which President Trump has worked to undo since taking office,” Thierer said. “The Trump AI Action Plan will end up being a meaningless exercise unless Congress gets back to work and asserts its authority to oversee interstate algorithmic commerce.”