US Lawmakers Clash Over Artificial Intelligence Regulatory Frameworks

Legislative efforts to regulate artificial intelligence are splitting between state-level action and stalled federal initiatives. The Tennessee General Assembly has already enacted four laws targeting AI impersonations of performers, deepfakes in political advertising, the posing of AI as mental health professionals, and the prevention of AI being classified as a legal person. A legislative committee is now developing a second report, due in January, to establish preventative guardrails, though a recent proposal for child protection safety disclosures failed to pass.

At the federal level, progress remains limited despite numerous bipartisan proposals. Members of Congress have introduced the Frontier Act for safety audits, a proposal for a kill switch to shut down threatening models, and measures to prevent AI use in nuclear weapon deployment. While a law against nonconsensual deepfakes passed last year, broader regulation is hindered by tech industry lobbying and opposition from President Donald Trump, who has characterized the potential for AI harm as a "hoax."

Federal lawmakers continue to debate the urgency of the issue, citing national security vulnerabilities, the AI race with China, and economic disruptions caused by mass automation and data center energy demands. Some proposals include capturing earnings from AI companies to fund federal support programs to mitigate these economic shifts.