Overview
I. Background
Created by House leadership in 2024, the Bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) was chaired by Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and co-chaired by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and was tasked with developing a US vision for AI adoption, innovation, and governance. The Task Force aimed to develop policies to preserve American leadership in AI and ensure it is developed responsibly here and globally. The report provides 66 key findings and 85 recommendations over 15 different issue areas.
A. High-Level Principles
The Task Force released several high-level principles that transcend specific AI issues and can help guide future congressional efforts. The principles are:
- Identify AI Issue Novelty
- Promote AI Innovation
- Protect Against AI Risks and Harms
- Empower the Government with AI
- Affirm the Use of a Sectoral Regulatory Structure
- Take an Incremental Approach
- Keep Humans at the Center of AI Policy
II. Issue Areas
A. Government Use
Key Findings – Federal agencies have already begun leveraging AI to empower existing agency missions and streamline programs. While use cases vary in application and maturity, the benefits of responsible government use of AI are potentially transformative. However, irresponsible or improper use fosters risks to individual privacy, security, and the fair and equal treatment of all citizens by their government.
Select Recommendations – The government should support flexible governance, use AI to reduce administrative burdens, require notification of AI use, adopt standards for government use of AI (through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)), improve cybersecurity, and encourage data governance strategies.
B. Federal Preemption of State Law
Key Findings – Federal preemption of state law on AI issues is complex and can have benefits and drawbacks.
Select Recommendations – Congress should study applicable AI regulations across sectors.
C. Data Privacy
Key Findings – AI systems amass and use large amounts of data, which can exacerbate privacy harms, that Americans have limited ways to prevent.
Select Recommendations – Congress should explore mechanisms to promote access to data in privacy-enhanced ways and ensure privacy laws are technology-neutral.
D. National Security
Key Findings – AI is critical to national security; US adversaries are adopting and militarizing AI; National security requires advanced cloud access and AI for contested environments.
Select Recommendations – Congress should focus on overseeing AI activities for national security, expanding AI training at the Defense Department, overseeing autonomous weapons policies, and supporting international cooperation on AI for defense concepts.
E. Research, Development, and Standards
Key Findings – The US remains the leader in fundamental research and standards and consistently produces cutting-edge AI applications before other nations.
Select Recommendations – To maintain our leadership in AI, Congress should continue federal R&D efforts, support AI evaluations, and bolster US standardization efforts.
F. Civil Rights and Liberties
Key Findings – Improper use of AI can violate laws and deprive Americans of our most important rights.
Select Recommendations – AI outputs should have human touch points to remedy flaws when AI is used in highly consequential decision-making. Congress should support transparency and training in AI decision-making to mitigate discrimination.
G. Education and the Workforce
Key Findings – The US has a significant talent gap in AI application research, development, and deployment.
Select Recommendations – Congress should support investments in AI education at K-12 schools, colleges, and workforce development programs.
H. Intellectual Property
Key Findings – Advances in generative AI technology have introduced new issues for intellectual property laws, raising questions about how the ownership, creation, and protection of art, writings, brands, songs, inventions, and other creations should be treated.
Select Recommendation – Congress should clarify intellectual property laws and regulations and explore ways to counter harm from deepfakes.
I. Content Authenticity
Key Findings – Generative AI can have many beneficial uses, but if used improperly, it can create harm and undermine confidence in information integrity.
Select Recommendations – Congress should support technical solutions to identify synthetic content and ensure victims have the tools to counter any harm sustained.
J. Open and Closed Systems
Key Findings – Open AI models encourage innovation and competition, and limited evidence shows they should be restricted.
Select Recommendations – Congress should continue to monitor risks from open-source models and encourage innovation when developing AI models.
K. Energy Use and Data Centers
Key Findings – AI needs significant amounts of power to run. Further, it relies heavily on data centers to store information, contributing to energy demands.
Select Recommendations – Support and increase federal investments in scientific research that enables innovations in AI hardware, algorithmic efficiency, energy technology development, and energy infrastructure. Strengthen efforts to track AI power usage and create new standards to better communicate energy metrics.
L. Small Businesses
Key Findings – Small businesses are important to the US’ lead in the AI race, but they often lack capital and understanding of how to adopt and use AI.
Select Recommendations – Congress should support AI literacy and adoption for small businesses and reduce their compliance burdens.
M. Agriculture
Key Findings – AI advancements have the potential to increase food availability, lower food prices, and bolster economic growth.
Select Recommendations – Congress should identify opportunities for advancing AI in precision agriculture, specialty crops, and land management. Further, Congress should review the application of the CFTC’s principles-based framework to ensure it captures the unique risks posed by AI in financial markets.
N. Healthcare
Key Findings – AI can quickly analyze large data sets, improve diagnostic accuracy, streamline operations and automate routine tasks. These can potentially improve efficiency and efficacy in treatment and reduce burdens on healthcare practitioners, freeing up more time for patient care.
Select Recommendations – Congress should ensure that healthcare AI is safe, transparent, and effective. Congress should also support the development of standards for liability related to AI issues.
O. Financial Services
Key Findings – AI has long been used in the financial services sector and can improve its efficiency and accessibility.
Select Recommendations – Congress should ensure protections are in place in the financial services and housing sectors, including by encouraging regulators to increase their expertise in AI. Congress should also consider the merits of regulatory “sandboxes” allowing regulators to experiment with AI applications.
