A new draft bill that would regulate some of the most advanced artificial intelligence tools was released for public comment by Republican Rep. Jay Obernolte of California and Democratic Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts on Thursday. The Obernolte-Trahan bill, dubbed the Great American AI Act, would ask large AI developers to keep the government informed about the development of its frontier models, make plans to mitigate the most severe harms to cybersecurity, and allow auditors to ensure those plans are followed. And while all of that may sound reasonable to people who want to make sure AI doesn’t go all Skynet on us—or just ensure it isn’t used by rogue actors to dismantle important cyber or financial infrastructure—the proposed federal legislation is controversial for one big reason: It would preempt some of the laws already passed at the state level. As Politico notes, the bill would also create the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), an office in the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, to evaluate frontier models for the next three years. President Donald Trump’s executive order on AI earlier this week sought to establish the office, but it has no funding without congressional approval. The law would allocate $300 million for the effort.
New Bipartisan Legislation Takes a Big Step Forward in Restricting State Regulation of AI
Legislators said the draft bill is, "intended to solicit feedback from stakeholders, experts, and the public before the bill is formally introduced."











