Within the next two weeks, the US government plans to publish a list of every existing law and regulation that applies to American AI labs. The aim is to head off 535 members of Congress writing new rules of their own, a day after Democrats won control of both chambers.
Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer, gave the timeline on Wednesday at a Wall Street Journal technology conference in Napa, California, Reuters reported. He said the government’s Super Intelligence Task Force would set out the rules “in the next week or two”, but gave no further detail.
“What we’re trying to do is create a framework that makes the American people have confidence that these companies are going to do the right thing,” Michael said. “Or else I think what you get is 535 legislators writing a piece of regulation that could kill the industry.” That figure is the full membership of the House and Senate.
Who is behind it
President Trump set up the task force in October, NBC News reported. It is led by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and includes Federal Trade Commission chair Andrew Ferguson, with Michael as vice chair. It reports to Trump and his chief of staff, Susie Wiles. It followed a White House meeting with tech leaders that Trump said produced “tremendous self-regulation”, a deal that does not appear to be legally binding.
What the labs have agreed so far
Michael said AI companies have signed up to four safety principles, including outside auditors and an independent board committee that can take safety complaints, according to Benzinga. He also wants rules on how companies report and sort safety incidents.
Asked whether the task force can pause a model or fine a company, he pointed to powers that already exist. Export controls, he said, could cut off a company’s foreign sales if it failed to fix a jailbreak, a trick that gets a chatbot past its safety rules, within two hours.
The pressure from Congress
Democrats are promising tougher scrutiny. Texas Representative Greg Casar said AI company bosses “should be called to testify under oath”, The Hill reported, and Senator Ed Markey joked about printing subpoenas. Any new law would still need Trump’s signature or enough votes to override a veto. The AI industry itself is split, with OpenAI among those pushing for some federal limits.
Why it matters
A list of existing laws is not new regulation, and it will not say how those laws are enforced against AI. But it will be the first time the administration has said in one place what AI labs can be held to, and it sets the starting point for whatever the new Congress tries next.
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