top of page

AI Governance in the USA: Strategies, Innovation, and Public Policies

Immagine del redattore: Andrea ViliottiAndrea Viliotti

The December 2024 report by the Bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, a working group of the United States Congress, provides a detailed analysis of the impact of AI adoption. Drafted by 24 congressional members from both political parties, the document presents 89 recommendations based on 66 key findings. Among the examined issues are questions related to privacy, national security, civil rights, and technological development, with the aim of promoting responsible innovation and consolidating the United States’ leadership in this field.

AI Governance in the USA: Strategies, Innovation, and Public Policies
AI Governance in the USA: Strategies, Innovation, and Public Policies

AI Governance in the USA: A Strategic Vision for Competitiveness

In the United States, Artificial Intelligence is not merely an emerging technological factor, but rather a genuine strategic lever destined to redefine paradigms of economic competitiveness, security, and the preservation of democratic principles. The constant evolution of data analysis platforms, made possible by ever-increasing computing power, has enabled the development of systems capable of tackling complex issues rapidly and with unprecedented levels of efficiency. However, the very sophistication of these tools requires a clear regulatory framework that ensures transparency and accountability while preventing potential abuses stemming from improper use.


Although the United States maintains a global leadership position, supported by a vibrant entrepreneurial fabric, substantial private funding, and a still highly qualified research environment, the complexity of the markets and the rapid pace of technological progress demand a structural rethinking. Being at the forefront of innovation can no longer be limited to the mere availability of capital or expertise. A long-term perspective is needed, one that contemplates the entire AI supply chain—from basic research to the development of specific applications, and finally the definition of ethical and security standards.


A sector-based approach to AI governance in the USA, aiming to establish rules and guidelines tailored to the peculiarities of each application domain, could strengthen the ability to integrate AI into various economic and social sectors. This implies fostering synergy among industry, academia, and institutions, where investment in public research and the adoption of targeted incentives can sustain the entire ecosystem in the medium and long term. Only through a coherent strategy, fueled by rigorous governance policies, can the emergence of truly sustainable AI solutions be encouraged, while simultaneously ensuring that innovation does not become a risk to democratic stability and systemic resilience. In this perspective, the ability of the United States to preserve its leadership becomes inseparable from the consolidation of a solid regulatory terrain and the understanding that the effectiveness of these technologies is measured not only in terms of competitiveness, but also in respect for human dignity and the foundational values of society.


Within this framework, attention to rights and equity acquires central importance. The “Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” issued by the Biden administration, represents a concrete example of how U.S. public policies are seeking to address structural inequalities. This approach aligns with the need to ensure that AI, when deployed on a large scale, does not perpetuate biases or discrimination. The explicit reference to historically disadvantaged communities and the commitment to removing systemic barriers reflect the willingness to build a more inclusive and accountable technological ecosystem. AI thus becomes a tool to promote social justice, equitable access to opportunities, and transparency—fundamental elements for reinforcing the democratic legitimacy of the entire innovation governance project.


Artificial Intelligence and Public Governance in the USA: Efficiency and Transparency

The progressive integration of Artificial Intelligence into U.S. public administrations highlights governance as a delicate balance among innovation, efficiency, and upholding democratic principles. On one hand, AI offers the possibility of streamlining procedures, eliminating redundancies, improving service quality, and responding more swiftly to citizens’ needs. On the other, it demands strengthening tools for oversight, transparency, and participation. Employing algorithms in public policy design or in managing collective resources requires constant vigilance over potential discriminatory effects and the capacity to adequately protect privacy and the security of personal data.


Fully aware of these implications, the United States is working to define a coherent regulatory framework that supports federal administrations in risk assessment and ensures stability and trust. In this context, transparency is not simply an abstract value but a technical and operational prerequisite: ensuring access to the decision-making logic of algorithms, the ability to understand data processing procedures, and the delineation of clear responsibilities for any harm or discrimination are all crucial steps. At the same time, avoiding regulatory overlaps and reducing bureaucratic complexity is essential to prevent slowing down the benefits of technological innovation. Government agencies are therefore striving to find a balance between a sufficiently strict set of rules to prevent abuses and enough flexibility to adapt to continuously evolving technologies.


This vision of public governance—flexible yet rooted in solid principles—translates into choosing to invest in training, promoting best-practice sharing among various agencies, enhancing cyber-resilience infrastructures, and implementing continuous monitoring mechanisms to track AI applications’ impact. The ultimate goal is to establish a more authentic relationship of trust with the community, demonstrating that technological innovation is not an end in itself but a tool to improve the state’s functioning and citizens’ quality of life, without weakening rights, freedoms, and the founding values of American society.


When addressing regulatory and social issues, one cannot ignore the broader context of constitutional rights and fundamental freedoms. The “Remarks by President Biden on the Supreme Court Decision to Overturn Roe v. Wade,” though not directly related to AI, show how institutional and judicial choices affect citizens’ perceptions about the protection of individual rights. At a historical moment when a Supreme Court decision removes a right that had been guaranteed for decades, a climate of uncertainty arises regarding the future of other rights and balances. This tension also resonates in the AI field: if institutions do not appear able to firmly safeguard privacy and equality, trust in automated systems and the policies governing their implementation may suffer as a consequence.


AI Legislation in the USA: Balancing Federal and State Authority

The issue of coordination between federal and state levels in the United States highlights the complexity of defining AI regulations in a variegated institutional context. On the one hand, the rapid pace of technological innovation encourages some states to intervene with experimental regulations, aiming to guide the sector and anticipate emerging challenges. On the other, Congress is considering guaranteeing a unified regulatory framework to provide certainty to businesses and investors, minimizing the risk of conflicts and duplications. The objective is to ensure that AI can evolve within a coherent and not fragmented system of rules, capable of promoting economic growth and encouraging innovation.


However, choosing to centralize too many responsibilities could flatten the regulatory landscape, depriving local and state authorities of the necessary flexibility to address specific situations. Socioeconomic and cultural contexts vary significantly from one state to another, and legislative solutions suitable in one area may not fit elsewhere. An excessive national standardization risks slowing down the adaptation of rules to local conditions, limiting the capacity for continuous policy experimentation and improvement. Finding a balance between the need to standardize rules and the need to allow room for maneuver at the state level is not merely a theoretical exercise, but the key to ensuring a regulatory ecosystem capable of responding to the technological, economic, and social challenges of AI. From this perspective, the discussion on federal preeminence is essential for shaping a governance system that encourages innovation, fosters investor confidence, protects consumers, and simultaneously preserves the vitality of American federalism as a driving force for creative and timely solutions.


Federal Standards for Privacy and Data Security in the AI Era

Protecting privacy and safeguarding personal data are central issues in the AI era, where large-scale data analysis can reveal deeply rooted vulnerabilities in digital systems. Machines’ ability to extract complex patterns, generate seemingly authentic content, and infer personal traits from fragmentary data poses new challenges because a single error can compromise user trust and undermine the reputation of entire organizations. In the United States, multiple sectoral regulations have created a fragmented landscape, pushing the debate toward establishing clearer, more robust, and more uniform federal standards. Such standards can mitigate regulatory uncertainties and reduce opportunities for opportunistic behavior.


This scenario calls for a reflection that goes beyond mere data protection: it is necessary to enhance approaches that preserve anonymity while still enabling research and innovation. The use of synthetic datasets and privacy-preserving algorithms represents effective technological solutions to ensure data utility without jeopardizing confidentiality. These solutions are not purely technical; they have profound implications for balancing market needs, economic progress, and fundamental rights. The goal is to ensure that a society increasingly dependent on automation can trust the digital ecosystem.


Adopting an integrated approach, where technical excellence merges with a clear regulatory framework, can align corporate interests with the protection of the individual, thereby supporting the credibility of the entire system. Where algorithmic transparency and the accountability of those handling data intersect with constitutional rights, it becomes urgent to introduce resources, expertise, and norms that guide AI development in a direction that does not sacrifice values and freedoms. Thus, the implementation of stricter federal standards and innovative privacy protection techniques is not merely a legislative step but the foundation of a new trust pact among citizens, businesses, and the state, oriented toward a future in which the power of automated systems does not contradict but rather reinforces democratic ideals and human rights.


AI Governance in National Security: Rules to Maintain Technological Advantage

AI’s relevance to defense and national security is evident in its potential to make operations faster, more precise, and better informed. Advanced automation enables processing large data volumes, identifying emerging threats, and optimizing responses. This potential not only improves logistics but also involves strategic analysis, resource management efficiency, and the ability to integrate distributed computer networks in complex operational theaters. On the horizon, a geopolitical context emerges in which global adversaries are accelerating their own R&D programs, showing no hesitation in exploiting AI to gain tactical advantages or even compromise the security of U.S. critical infrastructure.


For the American defense apparatus to maintain a leadership position, relying solely on the technological excellence of recent decades is insufficient. Constant updates are required, adjusting platforms and reducing innovation adoption times. This involves setting precise and transparent rules both for human responsibility and for data usage, avoiding untested or unsupervised technologies that might prove unreliable or even harmful. Sharing information within the armed forces, harmonizing technical standards, and protecting the industrial supply chain are indispensable elements to ensure that AI integration in defense systems does not undermine cybersecurity. Modernizing digital infrastructures, making sufficient computational resources available, and ensuring the robustness of satellite and terrestrial networks is essential for operational units to fully exploit AI’s capabilities.


At the same time, a regulatory framework capable of establishing ethical guidelines prevents dangerous drifts and ensures that the solutions adopted respect constitutional principles and the country’s democratic values. Congressional oversight—monitoring investments, strategic choices, and the Department of Defense’s conduct—is a key instrument to maintain a balance between the drive for innovation and the need to contain risks and abuses. The coherence and cohesion of this approach will be decisive in facing future challenges, where technological supremacy may become a critical factor in preserving long-term stability and security.


American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence: Research, Standards, and Innovation

The driving force of basic research in the United States lies in the ability to nurture an ecosystem where innovation is not limited to producing new products but translates into continuous development of fundamental tools and knowledge. This is reflected in the creation of increasingly robust, understandable, and efficient algorithms, supported by massive federal funding for universities, research centers, and private industries. The goal is not just isolated breakthroughs, but building a cognitive and technological infrastructure that, through advanced computing capabilities, high-quality data repositories, and close public-private collaboration, accelerates AI maturity in an organic way.


Defining shared standards plays a central role, making the field more stable and coherent by preventing everyone from proceeding with entirely different approaches, methodologies, and parameters. However, to maintain this momentum, it is vital to prevent a vicious cycle of opacity, where the know-how accumulated by a few large companies remains secret, limiting the multiplier effect of open research. Adopting a policy that favors transparency and the controlled dissemination of information enhances competitiveness, as new players can contribute to collective progress.


In a rapidly evolving global market, international collaboration in identifying common standards and regulatory frameworks can foster sector stability and reduce uncertainties arising from fragmented approaches. Cross-border cooperation, guided by principles of reciprocity and responsibility, turns global challenges into opportunities for collective growth. Ultimately, maintaining an open attitude and continuously investing in basic research, building shared infrastructures, and engaging in dialogue with international allies preserves the capacity of the United States to remain at the center of the AI landscape, guiding its evolution toward a safer, more ethical model that promotes shared prosperity.


Equity and Transparency in Artificial Intelligence: A Priority for Civil Rights

Using AI in contexts of high social sensitivity requires constant vigilance to prevent algorithms from becoming, even inadvertently, conduits of inequality. If the initial data are incomplete or represent only a portion of the population, there is a risk of penalizing individuals or groups already disadvantaged. Faced with such scenarios, transparency in decision-making processes becomes a key element: it is essential to know the criteria the system uses, to have avenues of recourse when errors or abuses are suspected, and to ensure that a human supervisor can always intervene in the event of anomalies.


Regulatory agencies themselves must evolve, equipping themselves with the technical and legal skills necessary to promptly recognize potentially discriminatory situations. This is particularly urgent in sectors like employment, where inaccurate algorithms can deny opportunities to qualified candidates, or in healthcare, where an incorrect decision can put lives at risk. The financial sector, education, and public security are also areas where improper AI use can have detrimental consequences. Protecting civil rights and fundamental freedoms is not achieved through high-level principles alone: a strategy of periodic monitoring, recognized technical standards, independent inspection procedures, and evaluations is required.


Constant engagement with civil society and interested groups helps maintain a balance between technological progress and safeguarding human dignity, preventing algorithms from aggravating pre-existing disparities or creating new ones. The ultimate goal is to build a system in which innovation proceeds in tandem with responsibility, ensuring a future where AI’s benefits are shared and its risks adequately contained.


Training in the AI Era: Skills for a Future-Oriented Workforce

The need to train a workforce fully integrated into the AI era is now undeniable. The labor market requires professionals not only capable of developing algorithms or managing IT infrastructures but also of interpreting the results produced by models and integrating them into complex decision-making processes. Meeting this challenge requires a profound revision of educational pathways: university and school curricula must be updated to include machine learning, data ethics, cybersecurity techniques, and basic notions to understand the functioning of neural networks.


However, training cannot be confined to academic classrooms alone: short courses, apprenticeships, and targeted certifications are indispensable tools to ensure continuous updating, especially given that technological innovation moves at a very rapid pace. It is also crucial to overcome barriers limiting access to these skills: democratizing AI education must include underrepresented communities, reducing the gap between those who can invest in their technological training and those who cannot. This calls for financial incentives, scholarships, and cultural awareness to encourage a broader participation in the digital world.


In this scenario, businesses, research institutes, and public organizations must work in synergy to define shared professional standards, create internship and apprenticeship opportunities, and offer continuous staff training. Only by doing so will it be possible to have a pool of talent prepared to support AI growth, ensuring that society as a whole can benefit from new technologies while avoiding the formation of exclusive elites or leaving behind those without the means or connections to access the most advanced knowledge. The final goal is to design an inclusive, updated, and dynamic educational ecosystem, in which AI becomes not a privilege for the few but a shared tool that amplifies the creative, economic, and social potential of everyone.


Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence: Solutions to New Challenges

The widespread emergence of AI models capable of generating text, images, video, music, and software is challenging traditional intellectual property paradigms. Where once the creative process was inextricably linked to human authorship, today automated content production raises complex issues: for example, whether an algorithm can be considered an author, or whether AI-generated content derived from existing works violates the rights of original creators. Moreover, AI’s ability to “assimilate” enormous volumes of data, including copyrighted materials, may lead to situations where a model reproduces substantial parts of works without authorization. This risks fueling litigation difficult to manage with current legal tools, designed for a context where creation and content consumption followed more linear dynamics.


The United States, always at the forefront of intellectual property protection, now faces the challenge of updating its regulatory framework to embrace new technological realities. Beyond addressing the protection of content generated entirely by AI, it becomes urgent to establish clear guidelines for the use of protected material in training models. Tracing content provenance through shared techniques and standards could help identify violations, while investing in technologies to ensure the integrity of works can increase trust in the system. The complexity of the problem, however, requires a balanced approach that preserves creators’ rights, encourages innovation, and at the same time does not excessively limit creative freedom and access to knowledge.


The cited report, with its numerous key findings and recommendations, testifies to the urgency of a multi-level legislative and policy solution. It is not just a matter of updating laws and regulations, but of promoting a broad and informed debate involving companies, artists, legal experts, technologists, and civil society. Only through inclusive dialogue and forward-thinking vision will it be possible to ensure that intellectual property protection continues to stimulate human creativity, even in the age of artificial intelligence.


Applications of Artificial Intelligence in the USA: Evolving Healthcare, Finance, and SMEs

Applying AI in key sectors such as healthcare, finance, agriculture, and small businesses presents a heterogeneous landscape of opportunities and responsibilities. On one hand, AI optimizes processes, reduces costs, improves diagnostic accuracy, speeds up the search for new drugs, and broadens access to financial services. On the other, each domain imposes specific requirements and constraints. For instance, to fully exploit AI’s potential in agriculture, it is necessary to overcome structural problems like lack of connectivity in rural areas and to create conditions for the secure sharing of data among producers, distributors, and consumers.


In healthcare, the precision of automated diagnostic tools calls for a clear framework of responsibilities and safety standards, since the quality of technology and the correct interpretation of its analyses can mean the difference between life and death. In the financial sector, increasing inclusion and transparency of AI-assisted services requires balancing the advantages of automation with robust data and consumer protection, avoiding discriminatory or misleading practices. For small businesses, adopting AI means confronting limited resources, reduced expertise, and fears related to regulatory complexity. Providing technical support, incentives, and targeted training becomes essential to prevent only large market players from benefiting from technological innovation.


This scenario requires the capacity to tailor policies based on the distinctive features of each sector. Congress and sector-specific agencies must take the lead in outlining flexible principles proportional to various realities, avoiding standardized approaches that ignore operational and social differences. Dialogue with businesses, local communities, experts, and consumer representatives is fundamental to identifying effective and sustainable solutions, ensuring that AI delivers real and lasting added value for the economy and society.


AI in Agriculture: From Precision to Forest Management for a Sustainable Ecosystem

AI is emerging as a powerful innovation catalyst in agriculture, helping to make production processes more sustainable and resilient. Through the ability to analyze vast amounts of data related to soil, weather, and crop health, AI offers tools to optimize the use of resources such as fertilizers, water, and pesticides, increasing yields and reducing waste. Technologies like sensors, drones, intelligent irrigation systems, and autonomous machinery—although currently hindered by high costs and limited connectivity in rural areas—can foster precision agriculture, capable of responding to climate and economic challenges. In particular, specialty crops, often requiring intense labor, could benefit from robots for selective fruit harvesting and advanced orchard monitoring services.


At the same time, improving connectivity and broadband availability in remote areas would attract investments, boost R&D, and support the adoption of increasingly sophisticated machinery and algorithms. On the other hand, AI integration is not limited to cultivated areas: forest management and wildfire prevention represent another crucial domain. Artificial vision systems, drones, satellite sensors, and predictive models enable faster interventions, identify vulnerable areas, and support planning preventive and restorative strategies. For these innovations to become effective, flexible regulations, federal support programs, specialized personnel training, and partnerships among the USDA, universities, and the private sector are needed.


In this way, AI can become a key factor in increasing productivity, reducing environmental impact, stabilizing consumer prices, strengthening ecosystem resilience, and creating new economic opportunities, ensuring that technological innovation remains accessible and enduring over time.


AI in Healthcare: Accelerating Research, Improving Diagnosis, and Simplifying Clinical Processes

Artificial Intelligence is transforming the healthcare sector, accelerating pharmaceutical research and making diagnoses more efficient. Machine learning algorithms identify new compounds and facilitate drug development at lower costs and reduced times, also promoting access to therapies for rare diseases. At the same time, analyzing clinical, genetic, and molecular data optimizes clinical trials, mitigating risks and speeding up the arrival of new treatments. Employing deep learning techniques to interpret medical images—such as MRIs and CT scans—supports physicians in detecting anomalies that are difficult to identify with traditional means, contributing to more accurate and timely diagnoses.


AI can also lighten bureaucratic burdens: NLP tools and generative AI can transcribe and summarize doctor-patient conversations, freeing professionals from manual record-keeping and allowing them to spend more time on direct patient care. However, challenges persist: the quality and representativeness of data are crucial to avoid biased models and erroneous diagnoses, privacy protection must comply with regulations like HIPAA, and interoperability among different healthcare systems remains an unresolved issue. Finally, legal accountability cannot be neglected, ensuring that medical authority remains central and that AI errors do not compromise care quality. A pragmatic regulatory framework and ongoing research activity can support the responsible adoption of these tools, ensuring tangible benefits for patients and greater efficiency in the healthcare system.


AI in Financial Services: Context, Opportunities, and Challenges

The finance sector has a long history of interacting with AI: since the 1980s, expert systems and algorithms have supported credit analysis, automated trading, and risk management. Today, the arrival of generative models opens even broader horizons, offering more accurate forecasts, refined analyses, and enhanced anti-fraud systems. However, to fully leverage these potentials, the sector needs regulators who understand the technologies, monitor equity, and ensure compliance with anti-discrimination, credit, anti-money laundering, privacy, and cybersecurity regulations.


Large banking institutions, with considerable capital and expertise, lead in developing internal solutions, while smaller entities risk lagging due to lack of data, know-how, and resources. At the same time, oversight authorities are starting to use AI to strengthen supervision, detect market manipulations, and reinforce AML and CFT controls. This requires substantial investment in regulators’ technical competencies and the creation of experimental environments—such as sandboxes—where new solutions can be tested without jeopardizing system stability.


Data quality remains essential: decisions about credit, insurance policies, or property valuations must not be influenced by biases or distorted data, under penalty of lost trust and potential legal violations. AI must remain a tool serving human responsibility, while algorithmic transparency and independent audits are crucial to preventing discrimination. In cybersecurity, AI is a double-edged sword: it defends against sophisticated fraud and attacks but is also exploited by criminals to enhance phishing and overcome traditional protection systems.


Greater public-private collaboration, incentives to adopt open banking solutions, and access to standardized datasets can strengthen small financial enterprises’ competitiveness, lowering entry barriers. A clear regulatory framework open to innovation, along with a joint commitment to raising technical standards and training specialized skills, would allow the dynamism of AI to be combined with consumer protection, equitable access to services, and the resilience of the entire financial ecosystem.


Conclusions

Artificial Intelligence is not a mere tool: its adoption and diffusion affect the core of how a society creates value, protects rights, generates knowledge, and addresses global threats. Unlike past technologies, AI evolves rapidly, forcing legislators, businesses, and citizens to constantly rethink regulatory frameworks. Compared to well-established scenarios, it is now possible to intervene strategically, benefiting from past experiences, a mature public debate, and awareness of the importance of responsible innovation. Many technological sectors exhibit partially analogous regulatory models, but AI magnifies these traits, making new public-private sector alliances indispensable. Investments in research to make systems safer, the definition of shared and international standards, and especially the training of individuals capable of facing this transition are all crucial elements.


The emerging policies in the USA offer valuable insights to entrepreneurs and corporate leaders, indicating that a solid future does not require unrestrained enthusiasm but rather well-considered reflections, interdisciplinary knowledge, and a constant rebalancing between innovation and responsibility. In this scenario, attention to equity and civil rights—as highlighted in the “Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government” and by institutional reactions to socially impactful issues (such as the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion)—influences how AI governance is perceived. The idea of an inclusive artificial intelligence, respectful of human dignity and anchored to democratic principles, becomes even more relevant at a time when America’s legal and social fabric is evolving.


Only by deeply integrating these dimensions into the strategic framework for AI will it be possible to ensure that emerging technologies contribute to balanced and sustainable progress for the entire community, rather than fueling new disparities.


 

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
bottom of page