Senators release roadmap for federal AI policy

Federal Issues Senate Artificial Intelligence State Legislation

On May 15, the Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group – comprising Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) – released the Bipartisan Roadmap For Artificial Intelligence Policy. The roadmap included their findings and outlined key policy priorities for bipartisan consideration in the 118th Congress and beyond. Understanding that artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies would not fall into the jurisdiction of a single committee, and recognizing the need to manage AI's benefits and risks actively, the working group hosted nine AI Insight Forums to increase the Senate’s knowledge of AI-related policies. The Working Group hoped Senate committees would continue to seek outside input from a variety of stakeholders and experts to inform their decision making. The Working Group also encouraged the executive branch to share with Congress “updates on administration activities related to AI, including any AI-related [MOUs] with other countries and the results from any AI-related studies to better inform the legislative process.” 

Key policy areas of the Senate’s AI roadmap included:

• Developing a comprehensive federal data privacy framework.
• Addressing potential long-term risks associated with AI.
• Boosting AI innovation funding to secure U.S. leadership and global competitiveness.
• Enforcing AI-related laws, addressing potential biases, and enhancing AI transparency and “explainability.”
• Preparing the workforce for AI-induced changes, including job displacement and retraining.
• Strengthening national security through adopting AI technology and managing related threats.
• Addressing the issue of deepfakes in elections and protecting content creators and journalists.
• Promoting competition in AI among higher education and businesses, supported by federal funding for the National AI Research Resource.