Illustration: Tiffany Herring/Axios
A group of conservative health policy experts are urging Congress and the Biden administration to pump the brakes on any rush to regulate AI — a contrast with the bipartisan push to put guardrails around the technology.
Why it matters: Congress may or may not be able to pass anything on AI at the end of the day, but the Biden administration is deeply interested in executive action and is expected to issue an executive order within weeks.
Driving the news: In an open letter, the newly formed AI Healthcare Working Group argues that "the Administration and Congress are proposing regulations that benefit large market incumbents ... at the expense of start-ups. These proposals are at odds with fundamental liberties and threaten to stifle innovation in healthcare."
- "If regulation is deemed necessary, it should be narrowly tailored to promote competition and innovation, provide clarity to consumers and companies, and protect patient safety and privacy," the group adds.
- The group is co-founded by Joe Grogan, a former director of the Domestic Policy Council in the Trump administration, and Naomi Lopez, a senior fellow at the Goldwater Institute.
- "Conservatives are not pushing back enough and some Republicans seem confused about what to do," Grogan told Axios.
Between the lines: The letter specifically warns against the formation of a dedicated AI regulatory agency, at least in health care.
- The creation of such an agency is an idea that has garnered bipartisan interest and is picking up steam, as Axios' Ashley Gold has reported.
The concerns expressed in the letter echo some included in a white paper by HELP Ranking Member Bill Cassidy released last month.
- "Top-down, all-encompassing frameworks risk entrenching incumbent companies as the perpetual leaders in AI, imposing an artificial lid on the types of problems that dynamic innovators of the future could use AI to solve," the paper argues.
- It also discusses AI's potential in areas like the research and development of new drugs, detection and treatment of disease and lessening providers' workload.
What's next: The Senate will hold its second AI insight forum sometime this month, Sen. Todd Young recently told Ashley.
- But for all of the Senate's interest, getting anything across the finish line will be a massive lift and is far from guaranteed.
