AI Policy Newsletter - November 21, 2024

Congressional Republicans Poised to Focus on AI Innovation over Regulation: With control of both the House and Senate, Republicans are signaling that they will take a more laissez-faire approach to AI regulation next Congress. Notably, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who is slated to chair the Senate Commerce Committee next congress, argued on a recent episode of his podcast Verdict that overregulating AI would cause the U.S. to fall behind international competition on innovation, criticizing Democratic efforts to “regulate the hell out of [AI]” as a “terrible idea.” Meanwhile, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has advocated for a “light-touch” approach to AI governance. Last year, he teamed up with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on legislation that would require companies to assess the impact of AI systems and self-certify the safety of systems seen as particularly risky, which he described as a counter to current Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) “heavy-handed” approach.

But Trump Has Said Little on AI Regulation: Beyond the GOP party platform, approved at the Republican National Convention this summer, including a pledge to repeal President Biden’s AI EO and instead “support AI development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing,” Trump himself has said little in terms of specific policy proposals related to AI. Additionally, close allies of the President-elect and his incoming administration have voiced conflicting views about AI’s existential risks and the need for regulation. For example, Elon Musk came out in support of California’s sweeping legislation S.B. 1047, while Vice President-elect JD Vance, who has close ties to the AI industry from his time in venture capital, has voiced concerns about overregulation further entrenching Big Tech incumbents and blocking innovation at the expense of the American consumer.

U.S. Hosts AI Safety Summit: The inaugural convening of the International Network of AI Safety Institutes began November 20 in San Francisco, California. It is the first such meeting since world leaders agreed at an AI summit in South Korea in May to build a network of publicly backed safety institutes to advance AI research and testing. Hosted by the Biden administration, invitees include officials from Canada, Kenya, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Their agenda is set to address topics such as how to better detect and combat a flood of AI-generated deepfakes fueling fraud, harmful impersonation and sexual abuse.

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