U.S. laws regulating AI prove elusive, but there may be hope
Policymakers have struggled to pass comprehensive AI regulation in the U.S. But there may be some reason to hope.
Can the U.S. meaningfully regulate AI? It’s not at all clear yet. Policymakers have achieved progress in recent months, but they’ve also had setbacks, illustrating the challenging nature of laws imposing guardrails on the technology.
In March, Tennessee became the first state to protect voice artists from unauthorized AI cloning. This summer, Colorado adopted a tiered, risk-based approach to AI policy. And in September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed dozens of AI-related safety bills, a few of which require companies to disclose details about their AI training.
But the U.S. still lacks a federal AI policy comparable to the EU’s AI Act. Even at the state level, regulation continues to encounter major roadblocks.
After a protracted battle with special interests, Governor Newsom vetoed bill SB 1047, a law that would have imposed wide-ranging safety and transparency requirements on companies developing AI. Another California bill targeting the distributors of AI deepfakes on social media was stayed this fall pending the outcome of a lawsuit.
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