Federal Policymakers: Chasing The Runaway AI Train

The U.S. is generally viewed as "behind" in its regulation of AI compared to the European Union and Asian countries. Yet ChatGPT's release triggered a tsunami of U.S. legislation in 2023 from federal and state legislators seeking to address perceived concerns with the emerging and fast evolving technology. State legislatures have introduced nearly 200 AI bills in 2023. Congress does not have nearly that number of AI bills, with about 30 bills tabled thus far. The various pieces of U.S. legislation – federal or state – seek to regulate both the creation of AI models and how those models may be used.

In gridlocked Washington, D.C., a comprehensive federal approach to AI – including the U.S. Government's role in regulating it – has received bipartisan support. This is likely because AI regulation overlaps nicely with bipartisan issues like national security concerns vis-à-vis the People's Republic of China; transparency issues (e.g., uses of the technology, and the