Artificial intelligence has been on Washington's radar for decades, at least conceptionally. More concretely, over the past few years the federal government has sought to keep up with the dizzying pace of advances by Big Tech and any number of smaller startups – not to mention international competitors, most notably China. Congress and the executive branch – including the White House and a wide range of federal agencies in both the national security and civilian economy spheres – have increasingly supported direct investments, promoted incentives for stepped-up R&D, and worked to develop non-regulatory guidance for the public and private sectors in navigating the economic, technological and social implications of AI. Seeking to ensure a leading global role for the US in AI development and implementation is a prime motivator for American policymakers. In doing so, Washington has been reluctant to adopt or even propose an EU-style sweeping regulatory regime governing applications and oversight of AI for fear that it may slow innovation.

The closest approach in the US for regulating AI to date has been draft guidance to the heads of federal agencies issued by the Trump Administration in early 2020, which advocated a lighter regulatory touch and favored non-regulatory pilot programs. "Federal agencies must avoid regulatory or non-regulatory actions that needlessly hamper AI innovation and growth," warns the January 7, 2020, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies. The guidance further states, "Agencies must avoid a precautionary approach that holds AI systems to such an impossibly high standard that society cannot enjoy their benefits." And the Trump White House's request for comments on the guidance further emphasized this laissez-faire approach: "OMB guidance on these matters seeks to support the U.S. approach to free-market capitalism, federalism, and good regulatory practices (GRPs)."