The Trump administration proposed a national framework for artificial intelligence (AI) that encourages Congress to establish a single, unified set of rules rather than leaving AI governance to the states. The framework seeks to minimize barriers to innovation, leverage existing federal agencies for oversight, support widespread access to AI technologies, and protect children. Many stakeholders are questioning whether the guidelines provide sufficient safeguards to address the risks and challenges posed by AI.
What the Framework Includes
The proposed national AI framework outlines several key priorities:
- Protecting Children and Families – Calls for AI platforms to implement safeguards for minors, including reducing risks of exploitation and self-harm, enforcing privacy protections, and giving parents greater control over their children’s digital environments.
- Strengthening Communities and Economic Growth – Prompts AI infrastructure expansion while protecting consumers from increased costs of data centers, supports small businesses through AI access and incentives, and enhances law enforcement’s ability to address AI enabled fraud and impersonation.
- Respecting Intellectual Property and Creators – Defers major copyright questions to the courts while suggesting possible licensing systems for creators. It also proposes protections to stop people from using AI to create copies of someone’s face or voice without their permission.
- Protecting Free Speech – Emphasizes First Amendment protections, aiming to prevent government coercion of AI platforms to censor content.
- Promoting Innovation and Global Leadership – Discourages new regulatory bodies, instead relying on existing agencies and industry-led standards. It supports regulatory sandboxes and broader access to federal datasets for AI development.
- Workforce Development and Education – Calls for integrating AI training into education and workforce programs, expanding research on AI driven labor changes, and investing in youth AI literacy initiatives (see previous FABBS article on teaching in the age of AI).
- Establishing a Unified Federal Approach – Advocates for having one national set of AI rules instead of strict state laws, while still preserving state authority in areas such as consumer protection, fraud prevention, and infrastructure decisions.
Engaging Brain and Behavioral Sciences
The framework highlights the importance of protecting children and empowering parents in digital environments, reflecting an understanding that exposure to AI-mediated content can shape cognitive development, learning patterns, and social behavior. It encourages Congress to support initiatives that equip youth with AI literacy and critical thinking skills, along with workforce training programs to keep humans central to complex problem solving. Understanding how AI interacts with human attention, decision making, and learning is critical to designing systems that complement rather than compromise cognitive functioning (see previous FABBS article on AI and cognitive memory).
Commentary from the Brookings Institution also points out that the framework relies on vague recommendations without clear plans or enforcement, raising concerns about who is accountable for both implementation and monitoring the framework’s suitability. This concern is amplified by the fact that numerous AI and technology moguls hold advisory roles in the Trump administration, meaning the same actors developing these systems are also helping shape the policies meant to regulate them (see FABBS PCAST article here).
The national AI framework lays the foundation for a unified policy approach, however, there are implications to consider for human cognition, behavior, and accountability. Safeguarding cognitive development, behavioral independence, and ethical engagement should remain central to how AI is deployed in society. FABBS remains attuned to AI developments on the national level, working to ensure behavioral and brain scientists play a role.
