Inside AI Policy

Members of Congress and the White House are embracing high-level efforts to protect ratepayers from rising power costs due to a rapid expansion of data centers, even as lawmakers continue to spar ahead of the midterms over the extent to which officials should limit a variety of environmental and other risks from the facilities, according to an analysis by Inside EPA. In a rare example of bipartisanship, the House Energy and Commerce Committee on July 22 advanced H.R....

A report from S&P Global Ratings says a preponderance of credit rating actions around developments in artificial intelligence have been positive over the past three years and largely centered on the high-tech sector, while the rapidly emerging technology’s credit impact in other areas of the economy has been limited. “These actions span both nonfinancial corporates and financial institutions.

The Senate health committee did not take up a key digital privacy bill that would put the Federal Trade Commission squarely in charge of enforcing the privacy of data collected by health apps that fall outside HIPAA at its July 22 healthcare markup, even though the bill sponsored by chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) was on the agenda, Inside Health Policy reported. The stalled bill comes as the Trump administration seeks further integration of wearables and other wellness tools into...

Microsoft, NVIDIA Meta -- and in a late addition OpenAI -- are among dozens of signatories on a letter that seeks to protect the practice of distillation in arguing against broad restrictions on open-weight artificial intelligence models, indicating a new front in the ongoing war between a particular set of AI “safety” advocates and supporters of greater access to the technology. In shaping the AI ecosystem, the July 24 letter says, “policymakers should be careful not to conflate legitimate...

The Information Technology Industry Council re-ups its call for enactment of a federal framework on artificial intelligence that preempts state regulation -- pressing the White House to “work directly” with Congress to pass such a measure -- in a blog post marking the first anniversary of President Trump’s AI action plan. “America cannot lead in AI while companies face a growing patchwork of conflicting state requirements.

Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) are proposing creation of a bipartisan, nonregulatory Commission on Human Dignity that would provide a forum for engagement on artificial intelligence, offer “ethical analysis to emerging technologies” such as AI, robotics, biotechnology, neurotechnology and clinical technologies, and sunset in 2032.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced July 22 it will partner with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to launch a series of science and technology challenges aimed at facilitating the development of artificial intelligence healthcare solutions and transforming drug discovery and development, Inside Health Policy reported.

Responding to state and industry requests, EPA has issued a new regulatory interpretation aiming to clarify that “islanded” power generation not connected to the grid -- such as for some AI data center use -- is not subject to Clean Air Act acid rain provisions, Inside EPA reported. In a July 16 memo, exiting EPA air chief Aaron Szabo told regional administrators that the agency believes that under the plain text of the acid rain program (ARP) regulatory... Log in to access this content.

Presidential AI advisor David Sacks highlighted the results of a Center for Artificial Intelligence Standards and Innovation assessment that found China’s newest open-weight frontier model Kimi K3 to be trailing the performance of those from top U.S. closed-weight developers on cyber capabilities, but only after their safeguards were removed.

The Business Software Alliance is asking the General Services Administration to make nine significant changes to a proposed clause for inclusion in artificial intelligence contracts, starting with clarifying the scope of the provision and including revisions related to open-source components, language on “unbiased AI,” and compliance and reporting requirements. “BSA’s core goal here aligns with the Trump Administration’s goals: to accelerate the federal government’s widespread adoption of AI.