Key Takeaways:
- The Trump Administration has introduced a national AI regulatory framework, building off the executive order issued late last year.
- The National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence calls on Congress to create a uniform federal standard that would preempt the current patchwork of state laws.
- The framework also focuses on issues such as protecting children, infrastructure, intellectual property protections, and promoting innovation.
Recently, the Trump Administration released their National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI). This builds on the executive order issued last year and addresses what they call the “most pressing policy topics that AI presents.” This now sets the stage for Congress to act and create some kind of uniform federal standard that would preempt the patchwork of state laws throughout the US.
It is unclear whether there will be enough bipartisan support to move through the administration’s proposal as it currently stands, but as Politico reports, Speaker Mike Johnson has already called on Congress to enact legislation and codify the administration’s agenda.
There are seven key objectives the administration is seeking to address:
- Protection of Children and Empowerment of Parents – The framework calls on Congress to provide tools that would enable parents to manage their children’s digital environment, including privacy settings, screen time, content exposure, and account controls. It also calls on Congress to require AI platforms and services likely to be accessed by minors to implement features that would reduce the risks of sexual exploitation and self-harm to minors. The framework also calls on Congress to build on the Trump Administration’s signing of the Take It Down Act, affirm that existing child privacy protections apply to AI systems, and ensure states can continue to enforce their own laws protecting children.
- Safeguard and Strengthen Communities – This portion addresses several priorities related to AI infrastructure and community protection. The framework directs Congress to ensure that residential ratepayers do not experience increased electricity costs from new AI data center construction, streamline federal permitting so AI developers can develop or procure on-site power generation, combat AI-enabled impersonation scams and fraud targeting vulnerable populations such as seniors, and provide AI resources to small businesses through grants, tax incentives, and technical assistance programs. It also calls for ensuring that national security agencies possess sufficient technical capacity to understand frontier AI model capabilities.
- Intellectual Property Rights – IP rights are another consistent area of concern when it comes to AI, and this framework proposes an approach that would protect the works of creators while still allowing AI to innovate. Specifically, while the Administration believes that training AI models on copyrighted material does not violate copyright laws, it supports allowing the courts to resolve this issue. The framework also asks Congress to consider enabling licensing frameworks or collective rights systems for rights holders to negotiate compensation from AI providers, and to consider establishing a federal framework protecting individuals from the unauthorized distribution or commercial use of AI-generated digital replicas of their voice, likeness, or other identifiable attributes.
- Prevent Censorship and Protect Free Speech – The framework addresses the need to protect free speech and to prevent AI systems from being used to silence or censor lawful political expression or dissent. It calls on Congress to prevent the government from coercing technology providers, including AI providers, to ban, compel, or alter content based on partisan or ideological agendas, and to provide an effective means for Americans to seek redress from the Federal Government for agency efforts to censor expression on AI platforms.
- Enable Innovation and Ensure American AI Dominance – The Administration is focused on deploying world-class AI systems from the U.S., removing barriers to innovation and accelerating the deployment of AI applications across sectors. The framework calls on Congress to establish regulatory sandboxes, provide resources to make federal datasets accessible in AI-ready formats, and avoid creating any new federal rulemaking body to regulate AI, instead supporting sector-specific AI applications through existing regulatory bodies and industry-led standards.
- Educating Americans and Developing an AI-Ready Workforce – This addresses the concerns surrounding AI and its impact on the workforce, asking for education programs, skills training, and apprenticeships that incorporate AI training, expanded federal efforts to study workforce realignment driven by AI, and new opportunities for workers in an AI-powered economy. The framework also calls for bolstering capabilities at land-grant institutions to provide technical assistance and develop AI youth development programs.
- Establishing a Federal Policy Framework and Preempting Cumbersome State AI Laws – The framework calls on Congress to preempt state AI laws that impose undue burdens and establish a minimally burdensome national standard, while respecting key principles of federalism. States would retain their traditional police powers to enforce laws of general applicability, including laws to protect children, prevent fraud, and protect consumers, as well as zoning laws and requirements governing a state’s own use of AI. However, states would not be permitted to regulate AI development or unduly burden Americans’ use of AI for activity that would be lawful if performed without AI.
Importantly, the administration notes that this framework must be applied uniformly across the country for it to succeed. Their announcement states, “A patchwork of conflicting state laws would undermine American innovation and our ability to lead in the global AI race.” This was one of the main tenants of last year’s executive order.
There will of course be much debate in Congress as they attempt to come to an agreement on how they will regulate this technology on a national scale. We will be watching closely to see the final result and how closely it will be to this initial framework.