AI Legislation's Arrival in 2025: Consensus Laws or Haphazard Patchwork - Prediction by CEO Jules Polonetsky
In the heart of Washington D.C., the 119th Congress is taking strides in shaping the future of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation. Jules Polonetsky, in an op-ed published on Tech Policy Press on January 10, 2025, shed light on this shift in focus.
The op-ed suggests that while the 119th Congress maintains a strong interest in AI, the current priority lies in addressing tech issues such as online speech and child safety over regulating AI's consumer protection aspects. However, the need for clear, comprehensive, and proactive AI regulations is emphasized.
The op-ed underscores the importance of public input in AI regulation and the need for greater transparency in AI systems. It argues that AI regulation should balance innovation, consumer protection, and civil liberties, and should be approached in a bipartisan manner.
The current AI action plan, released in July 2025, marks a significant departure from the previous administration's focus on risk mitigation and civil rights protections. The new plan prioritizes deregulation, infrastructure development, and global AI competitiveness as a national strategic imperative. Oversight is more targeted, retaining some national security and standards-setting functions but removing broader regulatory constraints.
The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, under Chairman Brian Babin, is working closely with the administration to streamline regulations, strengthen AI infrastructure, and promote the adoption of American-built AI systems. They emphasize the urgency of keeping the US ahead in AI leadership.
The 119th Congress has integrated AI-related provisions in major legislation like the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. This includes public-private cybersecurity partnerships for AI, AI model assessment and oversight, digital sandbox environments, and guidance on AI use in defense contexts.
Meanwhile, some states have increased regulation of AI in specialized sectors like medicine. There is attention on potentially harmonizing federal and state laws in the future to avoid regulatory patchworks.
Despite the focus on tech priorities like online speech and child safety, the strategic congressional and administrative focus on AI in 2025 clearly emphasizes innovation facilitation and infrastructure rather than broad, precautionary restrictions.
In conclusion, the 119th Congress's approach to AI regulation in 2025 centers on enabling innovation, competitiveness, and infrastructure expansion with measured oversight primarily where related to national security and standards. The post-election reshuffle in Washington D.C. presents opportunities for addressing AI issues on a national level in a balanced manner, ensuring the protection of consumers, civil liberties, and fostering innovation.
[1] White House, Office of Science and Technology Policy. (2025). AI Bill of Rights. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/ai-bill-of-rights/ [2] House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. (2025). AI Leadership and American Innovation Act. Retrieved from https://www.house.gov/babin/news/press-releases/babin-introduces-ai-leadership-and-american-innovation-act [3] National Conference of State Legislatures. (2025). State AI Regulation. Retrieved from https://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/state-ai-regulation.aspx [4] National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. (2025). Section 1645 - Artificial Intelligence Model Assessment and Oversight. Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5515/text#toc-H429E23390C994A219917A61C3107E2338
- The op-ed published by Jules Polonetsky on Tech Policy Press highlights the shift in focus of the 119th Congress, where AI regulation is concerned, towards addressing technology issues like online speech and child safety instead of consumer protection aspects of AI.
- The current AI action plan, as released in July 2025, emphasizes deregulation, infrastructure development, and global AI competitiveness over broad, precautionary restrictions. This departs significantly from the previous administration's focus on risk mitigation and civil rights protections.
- Despite the primary focus on tech issues in policy-and-legislation, the strategic congressional and administrative focus on AI in 2025 ensures measures to enable innovation, competitiveness, and infrastructure expansion, with measured oversight primarily where related to national security and standards, as evident in the AI Bill of Rights, the AI Leadership and American Innovation Act, and AI-related provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026.
