- Click here for the paper.
Summary:
Artificial intelligence (AI) presents many potential benefits and challenges in the private and public sectors. No federal legislation establishing broad regulatory authorities for the development or use of AI or prohibitions on AI has been enacted. Recent Congresses have passed primarily more targeted AI provisions. Different Administrations have focused their attention on federal engagement in AI, albeit with somewhat different emphases on specific topics. The focus on AI safety under the Biden Administration appears to be shifting toward security concerns during the second Trump Administration. Stakeholders in the United States have debated how to approach AI innovation and regulation in order to harness the opportunities of AI technologies, such as enhanced government operations and worker efficiency, while minimizing potential problems, such as bias and inaccuracies in AI-generated output.
- ChatGPT: Provide a history of the regulation of artificial intelligence.
I. Foundations: Pre-AI Regulation (1940s–1970s)
II. Algorithmic Awareness & Soft Law (1980s–2000s)
III. Big Data & Early AI Governance (2010–2016)
IV. Ethical AI & Principles Era (2016–2020)
V. Hard Law Emerges (2020–2023)
VI. Generative AI Shock & Rapid Regulation (2023–Present)
VII. Emerging Regulatory Themes (2025– )
AI regulation did not emerge as a single legal field. Instead, it is a convergence of:
- Administrative law
- Consumer protection
- Civil rights law
- National security law
- Competition policy
What’s new is that governments are now treating AI as infrastructure-level power—similar to electricity, finance, or telecommunications.
