Parts of Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer’s artificial intelligence “roadmap” may survive into the new Congress, but the legislation that stems from it could extend civil rights, according to technology and data privacy experts. While he downplays it, he says it will benefit the industry.
The 31-page Senate blueprint, titled “Advancing America’s Innovation in Artificial Intelligence,” was published in May by a task force that included Schumer and Indiana Sen. Todd Young. Mike Rounds, RS.D. and Martin Heinrich, DN.M. This document directed Congressional committees to prepare legislation in their respective areas of jurisdiction and provided broad guidance to prevent harm. .
“The Senate’s bipartisan blueprint was very industry-focused to begin with,” said Frank Torres, a privacy and AI fellow at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
With Donald Trump in the White House, the Senate in Republican control, and the House appearing to be heading in that direction, that trend could only increase, according to Torres and others who track the issue. It is said that there is.
In the interview, Torres cited the Republican platform’s calls to rescind President Joe Biden’s executive order on AI, as well as the Heritage Foundation-led Project 2025 proposal to roll back regulations, and pointed to changes in technology priorities that favor industry. He said there are signs pointing to a large-scale reshuffle. Especially in a way that benefits the tech industry and AI companies.
“So industry will take the lead when it comes to AI, and all Americans will be at risk,” Torres said. He said increased use of unfettered AI decision-making tools in areas such as employment and housing could result in loan denials or higher loan costs.
“We are particularly concerned about the potential impact on immigration and the large-scale surveillance of all Americans enabled by AI that could lead to swift deportations. , many innocent people could be in trouble,” Torres said. He noted that U.S. government agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are already using some AI tools.
The roadmap states that AI should not “directly or inadvertently violate constitutional rights, endanger public safety, or violate existing anti-discrimination laws.”
The working group that put together this plan acknowledged concerns about the potential for unintended and harmful biases arising from this technology. The group encouraged the committee considering the bill to consider how AI could have different impacts, both positive and negative, on parts of the population.
But Daniel Castro, vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said in an interview that Congressional leaders are unlikely to spend much time finding ways to prevent bias and other harm from AI.
“I don’t think the issue of bias is that much of a priority,” Castro said. “That’s not the appetite situation right now.”
This is despite Biden’s executive order emphasizing the need to protect people from discrimination and bias.
The executive order begins: “Responsible use of AI has the potential to help solve urgent challenges while making our world richer, more productive, more innovative, and safer. At the same time, irresponsible use can exacerbate social harms such as fraud, discrimination, bias, and disinformation; layoffs and disenfranchise workers; and stifle competition; and pose a risk to national security.”
AI’s “superpower”
Congress’ approach to AI legislation is also likely to be guided by President Trump’s views.
The president-elect called AI a “superpower” in a June interview on the podcast “Impaulsive” and framed the subject in terms of competition with China.
President Trump said the possibility of an AI-generated deepfake video of the US president announcing a missile attack on an enemy country was “alarming.” But advances in AI “will happen eventually, and if that happens, we have to take the lead against China. The biggest threat in that regard is China,” he said.
There is bipartisan agreement on some elements of Biden’s executive order, including the creation of an AI Safety Institute at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The institute is tasked with developing voluntary standards for the safe use of AI.
Safety standards are only useful if companies adopt them, Torres said, calling for mandatory compliance.
“We need stronger protection,” Torres said. He said the protections regulators are putting in place in the auto, aviation and pharmaceutical industries “are aimed at keeping us all safe and are not voluntary.”
The measure approved by Senate and House committees would establish an AI Safety Institute. Congress could take them up in a lame duck session. But Castro said that given Republican concerns that the institute’s powers are too broad, especially if Republicans control both chambers, lawmakers will “pause and implement it in the next Congress.” He said he may decide to do so.
The Senate roadmap includes a section on the impact of AI on the workforce, stating that “a wide range of workers, from blue-collar jobs to C-suite executives, are concerned about the potential for AI to impact their jobs. “I am doing it,” he points out.
If the Trump administration ends up creating a Department of Government Efficiency, as Elon Musk has suggested, AI tools could be part of efforts to “downsize or reimagine the federal workforce.” Castro said.
More broadly, the incoming administration is pushing for greater use of AI in the workforce, calling it a positive idea that could make jobs “less dangerous, leading to higher wages and cheaper goods.” Castro said it could be marketed as a. .
The Schumer-led roadmap also recommends billions of dollars in research funding outside of U.S. defense.
“The biggest headline in the roadmap is the $32 billion spending requirement on AI innovation,” said Andrew Lokay, senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors, a policy research firm that advises financial investors. ” he said.
“If there is a desire to significantly reduce federal spending, I think it may be difficult to do so under Republican control,” Roquey said in an interview.
But Roquey said defense hawks in Congress are likely to push for more defense spending, which could lead to more defense-related AI spending.
