Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence policy addresses how the rapidly advancing capabilities of AI systems are governed — covering safety standards, algorithmic accountability, labor displacement, national security implications, and the competition between the U.S. and China to lead AI development. AI is transforming nearly every sector: medicine, law, finance, education, transportation, military operations, and creative work. Large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini have demonstrated capabilities that have surprised even their developers, raising urgent questions about what AI systems should be allowed to do, who should oversee them, and how to prevent harms. President Biden issued a sweeping Executive Order on AI in October 2023 requiring safety testing and reporting by developers of frontier models — the most significant U.S. AI governance action to date. The Trump administration rescinded Biden's EO in January 2025 and issued a new order prioritizing AI dominance over safety constraints. Congress has struggled to pass comprehensive AI legislation, though dozens of bills have been introduced. State legislatures — led by California, which nearly passed SB 1047 in 2024 — are moving faster than the federal government. The EU's AI Act, adopted in 2024, is the world's first comprehensive AI law, creating a tiered risk-based regulatory framework that is expected to become a global template. China has enacted regulations on generative AI and algorithmic recommendation systems. The race to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) — AI that equals or surpasses human cognitive abilities — is underway at multiple frontier labs, with potentially civilization-altering stakes.