The United States is at an inflection point about AI. The pace, immediacy, and extensiveness of new technology have the potential to create new productivity and opportunity across sectors such as healthcare, education, defense, and many others. However, with opportunity comes risk: bias, misinformation, surveillance, and job loss! The US needs an agile, coordinated, and comprehensive response, and it must happen soon.
Currently, there is a hodgepodge approach to AI regulation across multiple federal agencies. There are federal agencies that have acted independently: The Federal Trade Commission has provided direction for the use of AI in advertising; the National Institute of Standards and Technology has developed possible approaches to an AI Bill of Rights; and so on. Collectively, federal agencies are working with action on AI, but there is no lead agency to hold them accountable for any form of unified, coherent response to AI.
A Federal AI Agency Can Be Both Watchdog and Ally
There is a prevailing belief that government regulation of technology will inevitably grind growth to a halt. However, a properly constructed, well-led AI agency could do the opposite. Instead of being an obstacle, it could be a pathway, providing clear standards but also providing funding and support to start-ups.
A federal AI agency could collaborate with tech companies, post-secondary institutions, and international colleagues to share a vision of what responsible AI might look like. It could provide a streamlined set of rules for clarity across sectors and limitations on duplicative hurdles for compliance. This would help keep users protected with regulation that builds trust and allows innovators to move faster and with more assurance.
Tech Oversight Doesn’t Mean Shutdown
We’ve seen similar examples of successful government involvement before. The Food and Drug Administration helped the pharmaceutical industry grow while keeping patients safe. The Federal Aviation Administration made flight safer while allowing innovation in aircraft technology. A federal AI agency can learn from these models.
Rather than restrict research or delay product launches, it can create guidelines to help developers build safe and inclusive tools. When developers understand the expectations from the start, they are less likely to face legal or ethical backlash later. A proactive agency can make that process easier.
Tech Giants and Startups Need Guardrails
Both large technology companies and young AI startup companies live in environments of uncertainty with today’s regulatory climate. Absent of clear national standards, they run the risk of being caught up in lawsuits, incurs reputational damage, or have an anemic investment. Thus, a centralized authority would provide certainty and make sure everyone is starting from the same playing field of acceptable and unacceptable, particularly in hiring algorithms, facial recognition, or autonomous decision-making case studies.
That would make sure consumers are protected and also assist companies from having to guess. A federal AI agency would be of value to publish pre-approved testing protocols, ethical AI certification programs, and red teaming guidelines that would help promote best practices and create an operating environment where good actors can flourish.
Collaboration Is the Future of AI Governance
Any agency regarding AI cannot operate independently. It needs to work with its international counterparts, engage with private sector expertise, and enable court participation. Without transparency and trust, we cannot regulate the emergence of a technology as powerful and universal as artificial intelligence.
The U.S. has an opportunity for international leadership too. Europe is advancing its work on the_DONE_ the AI Act while China can position itself with dangerously robust models of artificial intelligence. A well-generated federal organization is an opportunity to demonstrate how democratic nations can undertake regulation without stymying creative proliferation. A balance of AI regulation and innovation could set a global gold standard.
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