Hot on the heels of the world’s biggest names in tech and AI coming to the White House and Capitol Hill, we’re seeing a reinvigorated debate on what should be our next steps in the governance of the AI space. The debate, similar to that going on in the EU, is a matter of how much is too much and how little is too little as it pertains to the governance of AI. 

In Europe, lawmakers are working on the details of changes, largely centering around the uses of facial recognition and biometrics, to their landmark AI Act. Meanwhile, here in the US, we are at step one - instituting our own national governance policy of AI systems. Some states have already enacted their own policies, but there has yet to be a federal policy put in place.

The debate now goes back to our "Goldilocks" problem. Reporting from the Hill indicates that there is potential for a bipartisan bill led by Senators Thune and Klobuchar in taking the “light touch” approach, as opposed to what many expect may be a more heavy regulatory policy coming from Senate leadership. 

The signals are clear: legislators are moving to institute a federal AI governance policy in the near future. What form that will take remains to be seen. At Michael Best, we are uniquely positioned to holistically address these issues across industry spaces, from appropriations to trade and everything in between.