Exclusive: Thune urges "light touch" on AI regulations

Senate Majority Leader John Thune expects some form of freeze on state AI regulations to remain in the "big, beautiful bill" — even as his Republicans keep debating the move.Why it matters: States are leading the way in passing and implementing AI guardrails while Congress lags behind, and consumers say they want regulation.The moratorium has been criticized but Thune's (R-S.D.) support for it falls in line with the number one priority among many Republicans in Washington: don't get in the way of innovation. The big picture: "We want to be the leaders in AI and quantum and all these new technologies. And the way to do that is not to come in with a heavy hand of government, it's to come in with a light touch," Thune said. As former chair of the Senate Commerce committee, it's a space he knows well.The "big, beautiful bill" makes broadband grants contingent on states not pursuing AI regulations for the next 10 years."I think there'll be some version of it in the bill, but... it's possible, based on kind of the feedback we're getting from members, that it might change in some way," he said.Zoom in: Asked how Congress can know what policies will work 10 years down the line with a technology evolving as quickly as AI, Thune responded frankly, "I don't think you can.""I think this is the kind of thing where you can put some basic sort of parameters in place, but you're going to have to come along and be able to tweak those in the future, too," he said.Asked if the temporary ban on state AI regulations could tie the hands of states for the next decade, Thune responded, "that's the question, I think, that everybody's trying to answer."The way it's written now would derail a host of bills across the country addressing everything from deceptive election materials to autonomous vehicles. Behind the scenes: Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had a heated debate over the issue during a closed-door meeting Monday night, as Axios reported.Asked about Blackburn's pushback on Tuesday, Cruz told Axios: "The provision is in the bill, and it's going to remain in the bill."The policy has already undergone a rebrand, being framed as a "temporary pause" instead of a "moratorium."It has received the green light from the Senate parliamentarian after Cruz tweaked it slightly, but is still facing fierce opposition on and off the Hill, ranging from populist Republican leaders like Steve Bannon to civil-rights advocates."I'm willing to take this up on the floor if need be, and hopefully we can address it before then," Sen. Josh Hawley said Tuesday. "I think it's terrible policy. It's a huge giveaway to some of the worst corporate actors out there."Friction point: Cruz, chair of the Commerce committee, which has key jurisdiction on AI issues, has said he's only interested in light-touch regulation for AI.And Congress has shown it can't figure tech regulation out: "The challenge all of the states have is that getting anything through Congress in a reasonable length of time has become extremely difficult, right?" Sen. Mike Rounds, who was a key part of the bipartisan AI workshops last year, told Axios. "But the long term development of AI will require that we have a consistent policy throughout the United States."What to watch: Thune has worked on a bipartisan AI bill with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in the past, and told Axios that "at some point, I'm hoping we will legislate on this issue.""I think there are enough equities that both sides have in this," he said.Maria Curi contributed to this story.

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