US AI policy is a clumsy mess. Here’s what to do about it.

2025-06-07 · Source: Marcus on AI · Field: Government & Public Sector — Public Policy & Governance, Regulatory & & Compliance · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, quick

Summary

The United States currently faces a fragmented landscape of AI regulation, with approximately 1,200 AI-related bills introduced and about 150 enacted into law, yet lacking a cohesive national policy. This regulatory disarray negatively impacts both businesses and consumers. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Stephen Henriques, and the author propose a new framework in a Fortune essay, published May 15, 2026. Their objective is not to endorse specific legislation but to establish a structured approach for policymakers. This framework aims to guide state legislators, Congress members, and federal agencies in asking pertinent questions in a logical sequence, thereby preventing further proliferation of uncoordinated legislation and the hardening of an ill-conceived regulatory patchwork.

Key takeaway

For Policy Makers developing AI legislation, the current fragmented approach with 1,200 bills is unsustainable and detrimental. You should prioritize adopting a coherent policy framework to ensure that legislative efforts are coordinated and address critical questions systematically. This proactive step will prevent the hardening of an unmanageable regulatory patchwork, fostering a more stable environment for AI innovation and deployment.

Key insights

A coherent AI policy framework is crucial to avoid regulatory chaos and benefit both businesses and consumers.

Principles

• Structured questioning improves policy.
• Fragmented policy harms stakeholders.

Method

The proposed framework guides policymakers to ask the "right questions" in the "right order" to prevent uncoordinated legislation and a hardened, poorly designed regulatory patchwork.

In practice

• Review existing AI legislation.
• Prioritize framework development.

Topics

• US AI Policy
• AI Regulation
• Policy Framework
• Legislative Strategy
• Federal Agencies

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Marcus on AI.