The Trump administration’s revocation of Biden’s executive order on AI was warmly greeted by AI creators who were concerned about stifling innovation.
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After two years of AI roundtables, Congress has not created a federal scheme leaving a gap for the states to step in — which threatens death by a thousand cuts for AI developers and users.
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While the federal government remains at a crossroads, AI use in the workplace is increasing, not only as a productivity tool for individual employees but as a game-changing innovation impacting health care and other professions.
AI’s continued march forward:
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A new Gallup poll shows U.S. AI use at work has nearly doubled in two years: 40% of employees now tap AI a few times a year or more (up from 21%), with weekly use jumping from 11% to 19%. Daily use has doubled in the past year, from 4% to 8%, especially among leaders (33%) using AI twice as often as individual contributors (16%).
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As an example of life-altering AI innovations, Boston Scientific recently touted their AI-driven technologies that can predict up to 70% of cases of worsening heart failure well before a heart event occurs and AI that can identify dangerous heart arrhythmia.
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Perhaps the most urgent reality of AI use is its rapid evolution. Axios reports that most technologists believe we are within 5 years of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI), where AI is capable of “independent thought and action at advanced human levels.” Concerns about AI’s destructive power has resulted in at least 10 resignations from the biggest AI companies.
Regulators at a crossroads:
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House Republicans included a 10-year moratorium on state AI laws in their budget reconciliation bill, arguing that it avoids a fragmented patchwork that could hurt U.S. competitiveness with China.
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More than 260 state legislators and 50+ civil‑rights groups are urging Congress to strip the moratorium from the bill, citing recent protections enacted by Colorado, Texas, Washington, California and others. They warn it prevents crucial AI safety safeguards and undercuts states’ ability to protect residents.
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The Senate, meanwhile, proposed to condition federal funding under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program on the pausing of any state or local regulations.
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Members of Congress are split on the value of a state moratorium, including within the Republican party. Some republicans are concerned about a moratorium’s negative impact on U.S. AI dominance and others about states’ right to regulate.
On the legislative horizon: There is one bipartisan AI-related bill introduced in the House and Senate. The AI Whistleblower Protection Act would prohibit discrimination against employees who blow the whistle on AI security vulnerabilities and violations of law internally or to external regulatory bodies.
The bottom line: AI adoption is booming — as are real-world use cases like predicting cardiac emergencies — but understanding and governing these systems hasn’t kept pace. The next few weeks may determine whether America freezes state-level efforts or allows state innovation. And whether an AI-related bill with bipartisan support can reach the finish line.
