When used properly, artificial intelligence can be a valuable asset across a wide range of industries.
For decades, Americans have been conditioned to fear AI. From big-budget blockbusters portraying apocalyptic scenarios to TV shows and books that show AI in a negative light, AI has been shown negatively ever since HAL refused to open the bay doors.
This Hollywood-driven fear has affected real policy change on the state level. The problem is that many of these policies are overly restrictive and come from a place of fear rather than objectivity.
AI innovators should have one set of rules to follow nationwide, rather than being forced to tailor products and services according to a patchwork of laws.
They come from an understandable place, of course. AI has been known to hallucinate legal cases and run roughshod over privacy law, and it can be used in abusive and hurtful ways. It is imperative that humans remain involved in decision-making and implement strong safeguards against misuse. The White House recently called for such policies in the National AI Legislative Framework.
But the Trump administration has also recognized that regulations can be a hindrance.
This is why President Trump issued an executive order to establish a federal framework for AI regulation last December. “My Administration must act with the Congress to ensure that there is a minimally burdensome national standard — not 50 discordant State ones,” he wrote in the order. “The resulting framework must forbid State laws that conflict with the policy set forth in this order. … A carefully crafted national framework can ensure that the United States wins the AI race, as we must.”
