It’s Time the United States Speaks With One Voice on AI

In recent years, several nations have outlined their visions for AI regulation. The European Union favors sweeping, regulation-heavy frameworks, Britain has opted for a more business-friendly approach, and China is advancing its state-driven model. These strategies have shaped the global debate on AI and positioned their proponents to influence how others approach the technology.

In contrast, the United States has seen a flurry of activity on AI, but in conflicting directions. Under President Biden and former Majority Leader Schumer, the White House, Congress, and federal agencies each introduced their own AI initiatives. However, without coordination, these efforts never coalesced into a unified strategy. This lack of alignment has left the U.S. without a clear voice to guide the global AI conversation, creating a leadership vacuum that other nations can fill with innovation-harming policies.

With President-elect Trump, the newly convened 119th Congress, and incoming federal agency leaders taking office, the United States has a critical opportunity to reset its AI strategy. By embracing a light-touch, innovation-focused approach, the U.S. can provide the clarity it has lacked, counter heavy-handed models like the EU’s, and solidify its technological leadership. A unified strategy would prevent unnecessary burdens on U.S. companies while also offering uncertain international partners a coherent and pragmatic vision for how AI should be governed and supported. Each branch of government has a distinct role to play in crafting this unified vision.

Direction begins at the top, and under Biden, the White House advanced two fundamentally different approaches to AI. On one hand, there were measurable technical benchmarks, such as the AI Risk Management Framework—an empirical, evidence-focused tool for managing risk. On the other, broad, principle-driven initiatives like the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights presented aspirational guidelines around issues like bias and fairness but offered little in the way of practical enforcement. Without a cohesive vision unifying these efforts, AI companies and international partners were left wondering which path the administration truly championed.

The incoming Trump administration must do better. UK Prime Minister Starmer recently articulated a proportionate, science-driven approach to AI regulation, ensuring governance remains grounded in evidence. President-elect Trump should draw on this example and combine it with his administration’s light-touch regulatory approach. By creating a pragmatic, technically sound regulatory framework for AI, the Trump administration can provide coherence while driving innovation, protecting the public interest, and solidifying America’s leadership in the global AI race.

For the newly elected 119th Congress, the main challenge is to overcome the cacophony of disjointed and inconsistent legislative efforts that have hampered America’s AI governance thus far. Fortunately, the Bipartisan House AI Task Force report released this past December offers a pathway for how Congress can align around a unified national approach. This framework lays out a thoughtful and deliberate legislative framework: it identifies genuine AI risks, empowers sector-specific regulators, and advocates for federal preemption to address state-level fragmentation.

While the framework provides a strong foundation, its success depends on decisive steps to implement its recommendations—particularly federal preemption. Without preemption, the current web of state-level laws will keep fragmenting U.S. AI policy, creating uncertainty, raising costs, and stifling innovation. On the Senate side, Senator Thune has stepped into a pivotal leadership role. Having a track record of supporting innovation-friendly policies, he should provide the legislative focus needed to complement the House’s work and align both chambers of Congress behind a unified approach to AI governance.

Finally, regulators should reinforce—not undermine—an emerging unified strategy for U.S. AI leadership. Overly aggressive antitrust investigations into leading tech firms and AI chipmakers can throttle the very innovation the country needs to stay ahead, and broad export restrictions on advanced AI technologies risk weakening American competitiveness abroad without meaningfully reducing the risks they purport to address. The United States cannot afford to create unnecessary obstacles for its innovators. Instead, regulators should prioritize fostering a stable, competitive environment that keeps both domestic and foreign AI leaders operating within the U.S., ensuring the country remains a global leader and the ideal home for those shaping AI’s future.

It’s time for the United States to speak with a single voice on AI. Many countries look to the U.S. for inspiration on how they should tackle emerging technologies, and without a clear and consistent message, they may turn to others, adopting rules that could ultimately disadvantage U.S. AI innovators. The incoming administration and Congress have a rare opportunity to resolve the discord that has undermined American leadership abroad and fragmented policymaking at home, providing the clarity businesses and allies need. Without it, the U.S. risks losing its technological edge and forfeiting influence over how AI shapes global commerce, security, and society.

Image credit for social media preview: Gage Skidmore