On the heels of the White House’s recently released AI policy framework, both Congress and the Department of Labor made initial moves to implement some of its recommendations.
The big picture: Legislation implementing any parts of the White House’s framework are unlikely to pass ahead of the midterm elections, and should Democrats take one or both chambers in November, the chances of any implementing legislation will be near zero.
TRUMP America AI Act: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the “TRUMP America AI Act”, a comprehensive AI bill that would codify nearly all parts of the White House’s framework, among other provisions. The bill is meant to protect “children, creators, conservatives, and communities from harm while ensuring the United States wins the global race for AI supremacy.” Provisions of note include:
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Audits for “high-risk” AI systems: These systems, defined as those AI systems that pose significant risks to health, safety, rights, or economic security, would be required to undergo regular bias evaluations.
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Duty of care for AI developers: The bill would place a duty of care on AI developers to prevent and mitigate foreseeable harm in their product’s use, with minimum reasonable safeguards to be established by the Federal Trade Commission.
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The U.S. Attorney General, state attorneys general, and private parties would be empowered to sue AI developer for harms related to defective design, failure to warn, and other claims.
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AI-related job effects reporting: Certain companies (as yet unspecified) would be required to file reports on AI-related job effects, including layoffs and job displacement, on a quarterly basis with the DOL.
The bottom line: In addition to codifying recommendations from the White House’s policy framework, the bill would create significant new compliance obligations for AI developers—whether certain provisions would apply also to only users is yet unclear—on par with certain state laws, such as Colorado’s AI Act (set to finally go into effect later this year, pending further negotiations).
DOL launches “Make America AI-Ready” initiative: The Department is launching a free artificial intelligence literacy course meant to “advance the Trump Administration’s commitment to equip American workers with foundational AI skills needed to succeed in an AI-driven economy.” The course focuses on five content areas:
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Understand AI Principles: Understanding AI’s core concepts, capabilities, and limitations, creating the foundation for effective use.
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Explore AI Uses: Directly exploring different AI tools and relevant use cases, and how AI can complement human expertise.
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Direct AI Effectively: Understanding how to provide the right context to AI and how to create clear prompts that produce effective outputs.
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Evaluate AI Outposts: Assessing AI-generated results for accuracy, and relevance.
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Use AI Responsibly: Using AI in ethical and secure ways, protecting critical information, and ensuring accountability for outcomes.
The course is designed to be taken entirely over the phone via text message.
