Artificial Intelligence Ethics Regulation in the United States
This presentation summarizes recent federal activity in regulating artificial intelligence (AI) ethics. The National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 included a five year funded roll out for comprehensive regulation of AI across the United States including regulation of AI ethics, with the roll out funded through federal fiscal year 2025 ending in September 2025. Many AI regulation items in the news over the past five years were part of this process, including the Copyright Office reports about copyright and AI (published as an unbroken series across presidencies), the Department of Education’s (now unpublished) AI Toolkit, and the broad decision with implementation of whether large technology companies will be regulated in this area versus required to self regulate. This presentation summarizes key outcomes of the process, what is likely final, and possible/probable future activities. Because the law was initially signed during the first Trump presidency, there is more consistency in this area than perhaps might be the case in other areas of governmental regulation. Similar to how privacy issues in technology were not regulated in the 1970s as computers became more and more a force that structures our lives and work, and we are still reckoning with that gap, issues around regulation of AI ethics will structure how we live and work for years to come. Regarding AI, the government acted, and choices made so far will now shape the technology ecosystem.