AI may amplify Trump's regulatory rollback efforts, yet professionals highlight potential pitfalls

Senator Jon Husted, a Republican representative from Ohio, has introduced legislation (S. 1110) that seeks to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify and eliminate redundant or outdated regulations, with the ultimate goal of reducing waste and saving time.

This initiative, which is based on an initiative Husted led as then-lieutenant governor in his home state, is estimated to save Ohio $44 million and 58,000 man-hours over a decade.

The proposed law would set up an annual process for an AI system to scrutinise regulations and provide an expedited timeline for officials to decide whether to repeal such rules. Agencies would be directed to identify rules for elimination and issue orders to streamline the revocation process.

However, the use of AI in government decision-making has raised questions and concerns. Bridget Dooling, a former career official, warns against relying on AI to speed up the regulatory process, stating that it could degrade government analysis. Dan Berkowitz, a former Democratic commissioner, shares similar sentiments, suggesting that including AI in agency reasoning could prompt legal scrutiny.

Cary Coglianese, the director of University of Pennsylvania's Program on Regulation, contends that the government is underutilising AI. He emphasises that while some large language models may not be more informed than asking one's own teenager a question, they can still help identify patterns and inconsistencies that might be overlooked by humans.

Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, raises concerns about the lack of transparency in the use of emerging technologies like AI. She states that these technologies are being used to make sweeping decisions across government, including targeting workers and rewriting laws, while keeping the American people in the dark.

In response, Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit on June 27 to obtain records related to the Trump administration's use of AI. ProPublica reported in June that a Department of Government Efficiency engineer created an AI tool to identify Veterans Affairs Department contracts to cancel, which produced results with glaring mistakes.

The Trump administration's deregulatory agenda and the use of AI, including potentially to rewrite or repeal regulations, have raised questions about the integrity of the decision-making process. These orders have been challenged in court.

Dooling, however, suggests that AI could be used to ensure compliance with current rules, rather than to draft regulations or speed up the regulatory process.

Sen. Husted's legislation aims to give government a tool that helps them reduce waste and save time, and to give job creators and taxpayers a look at just how much Washington could do to get out of their way and siphon less money from their pockets. The future of AI in government regulation remains a topic of ongoing debate.

AI may amplify Trump's regulatory rollback efforts, yet professionals highlight potential pitfalls