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Lawmakers in Washington are raising serious doubts about whether Congress has the knowledge or political will to regulate artificial intelligence, even as warnings grow louder about the technology’s potential dangers. Across party lines, members of Congress openly admit that many of their colleagues lack even a basic understanding of how AI works — let alone the ability to write effective rules governing it.
Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, put it bluntly. “A lot of them can’t spell it,” he said. “They just don’t have the experience.” Senator Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, was equally direct, saying many members still don’t know how to use the internet, let alone grasp the complexities of artificial intelligence.
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A Knowledge Gap at the Heart of Congress
Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who represents parts of Silicon Valley, argued the problem runs deeper than a shortage of technical experts. “The problem in Congress is not that we don’t have enough computer scientists,” Khanna told NBC News. “It’s that we don’t have enough people who have a basic understanding of how the technology works or are using it.”
He compared the situation to making road rules without ever having sat in a car. “You don’t have to be an auto mechanic, but it would be nice if you at least were a passenger in a car or had driven a car,” Khanna said. “And we’ve had a lot of members of Congress who’ve not been passengers in a car when it comes to AI.”
Despite these concerns, some lawmakers remain optimistic. Representative Don Beyer, a 76-year-old Virginia Democrat, is pursuing a master’s degree in machine learning at George Mason University. He served on the bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and now sits on a Democratic commission focused on AI. Beyer argues that Congress does not need a room full of computer scientists to act responsibly. “We don’t have to be biologists or chemists to set up the FDA, or lawyers or stockbrokers to set up the SEC,” he said. He added that between 12 and 20 House members already have AI-related bills in progress.
Congress Has a Long History of Moving Slowly on Technology
One point of broad agreement is that Congress is nowhere near passing comprehensive AI legislation. Capitol Hill has a well-established pattern of lagging behind new technology. Lawmakers never passed sweeping internet regulation, even though the internet has existed for more than 40 years. Twenty years after Facebook launched, Congress is still debating how to regulate social media. Legislation to protect children online remains stalled, with House and Senate negotiators unable to reach a deal.
Senator Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, former astronaut and Navy combat pilot, acknowledged the slow pace. “This is the United States Congress you’re talking about. Nothing moves very quickly,” he said. He added that flying a fighter jet is “much easier” than passing AI legislation.
The House made a significant effort in 2024, when a bipartisan task force held more than two dozen hearings and produced a 273-page report with nearly 90 recommendations for potential AI legislation. Representative Jay Obernolte, a California Republican who chaired the task force and holds a master’s degree in AI from UCLA, said many of those recommendations have since become bills under committee review. One example is the Frontier Act, a bipartisan bill he co-authored with Representative Lori Trahan of Massachusetts. The bill would establish national safety standards for building and deploying advanced AI models.
“Would I prefer that the process had moved faster? Yes, absolutely,” Obernolte said. Asked whether he felt confident Congress would ultimately act on AI, he replied: “Confident is too strong, but hopeful.”
Political Will and White House Priorities
Beyond the knowledge gap, some lawmakers point to a lack of political will as the bigger obstacle. Beyer argued that Republican leadership is the main barrier. “What we need is a speaker who will let us put the bills on the floor,” he said. He has also called on Democratic leaders to form a select committee on artificial intelligence if the party wins back control of the House.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson plan to host an AI summit with technology leaders in Washington. However, based on their previous statements, the event is expected to focus on innovation and global competition rather than regulation. Trump has repeatedly said he does not want to “stifle growth of something that will be bigger than the industrial revolution.” He has also dismissed warnings about AI risks as a “hoax” and argued that regulation would hurt America’s competition with China. Johnson has acknowledged the need for some safety guardrails but insists Congress should not block American innovation.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates offered a starkly different view. “AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that cause a billion deaths,” Gates said in an interview set to air on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” He added that “no one thinks self-regulation is enough.”
Liability, Legislation and the Road Ahead
Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, acknowledged that most members of Congress lack deep AI expertise. However, he argued they don’t need it. Instead, he said, lawmakers should focus on holding tech companies legally accountable for harm caused by AI. His AI LEAD Act would open courts to citizens harmed by AI systems. “We should open the courthouse doors so that citizens who are harmed by AI — when AI agents crash the banking system or commit cyberattacks or hack data — the companies should be liable for that,” Hawley said.
Senator Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, was more pessimistic about Congress’s ability to keep pace. He pointed to the Senate’s recent failure to pass a landmark cryptocurrency bill despite years of bipartisan effort. “Crypto, we’re four years in. We haven’t passed it,” Moreno said. “So imagine AI four years in. We’re dealing with stuff that’s not even relevant in four years.”
Senator Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat running in one of the most competitive Senate races this November, placed the blame squarely on political leadership. At a recent campaign rally, he criticized the lack of urgency from both the White House and Congress. “Tech titans dig bunkers while warning us the new intelligence they’re creating risks human extinction,” Ossoff said. “Congress debates youth sports, and the president builds a ballroom. An ancient establishment, barely capable of email, sleepwalks into a technological revolution.”
For now, the gap between the speed of AI development and the pace of congressional action shows no sign of closing. Whether Congress can bridge that gap — or even agrees it should — remains an open and deeply contested question.
