Dive Brief:
- Policy pros have mixed feelings about AI’s overall impact on the workforce, but most agree existing guardrails need work, according to a Povaddo report published last month.
- More than 4 in 5 respondents said additional AI regulation is needed, the survey of 301 public policy pros found. Around one-quarter expect it will take three to four years for proper legislation to take effect, and around the same amount predict it will take longer.
- While most practitioners said they generally have a positive perception of AI vendors and developers, around 44% said they feel the companies are not taking data security and privacy seriously.
Dive Insight:
With AI initiatives well underway, CIOs are closely tracking AI policy and regulatory shifts in the U.S. as a new administration takes over later this month.
President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign presented a policy plan last year that called for a repeal of President Joe Biden’s AI executive order. Trump picked David Sacks as the White House AI and Crypto Czar in December, tasking the investor and entrepreneur with guiding policy for his administration. Sacks will also lead the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Executives anticipated tighter AI guardrails and increased costs for compliance in an August KPMG survey. Businesses began preparing for stricter regulation by implementing transparency and fairness measures and updating data practices.
Through the AI executive order, the Biden administration beefed up AI expertise and gave agencies a range of tasks, including information gathering and sharing which resulted in frameworks and voluntary guidance.
While Biden-era decisions on AI were largely considered steps in the right direction, most executives believe there’s still work to be done. Analysts expect the incoming administration to govern AI with a light regulatory touch.
A group of technology vendors, including Salesforce and Kyndryl, asked U.S. lawmakers for regulatory clarity via a letter to the House of Representatives’ AI task force in October. The task force released a report in December outlining several forward-looking AI policy recommendations and guiding principles.
Globally, executives are gauging how their organizations’ processes line up with the European Union’s AI Act, among other rules. The EU has worked to boost early compliance by creating an AI Pact. More than 100 enterprises are participating in the program so far.
The EU AI Act, which includes potential fines of up to $36 million (35 million euros), will become fully enforceable in 2027.
