The Beat Goes On
What we know about 'Big Beautiful Bill' banning states from regulating AI for 10 years
The phrase ‘interstate commerce’ has been the primary vector for weakening federalism by enabling the federal government to reach into areas of state jurisdiction for decades. Interesting to see the language applied to control state regulation of AI.
‘In other words, if the bill becomes law, states and local governments will be blocked from enforcing any regulations on AI systems and models that are involved in interstate commerce for 10 years.
‘The phrase "interstate commerce" broadly refers to business or activity that crosses state lines. But in the context of this bill, the distinction likely doesn't mean much. As a result, we've rated the claim mostly true.’
Fed Signals End to Ambiguous Crypto Rules, Clearing Road for Innovation
Regulatory certainty will unlock crypto innovation in the US.
‘The Federal Reserve is accelerating efforts to eliminate regulatory gray zones, pledging precise digital asset guidance to unlock innovation in crypto and next-gen financial technologies.’
Artificial Intelligence Regulation Hotly Debated on Hill
The AI regulatory prohibition is not a done deal, yet.
‘She added that she had been told it might be removed due to the Senate’s Byrd Rule, which forbids provisions in reconciliation packages that are not primarily budgetary. The rule is named after the late longtime Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.’
New York passes a bill to prevent AI-fueled disasters
New York State Senator is highly confident of his ability to anticipate and safeguard against AI risks. He also has tremendous certainty that we can get all of the benefits of AI even with his proposed guardrails. There is no tradeoff.
‘The RAISE Act has some of the same provisions and goals as California’s controversial AI safety bill, SB 1047, which was ultimately vetoed. However, the co-sponsor of the bill, New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes, told TechCrunch in an interview that he deliberately designed the RAISE Act such that it doesn’t chill innovation among startups or academic researchers — a common criticism of SB 1047.
‘“The window to put in place guardrails is rapidly shrinking given how fast this technology is evolving,” said Senator Gounardes. “The people that know [AI] the best say that these risks are incredibly likely […] That’s alarming.”’
The Perils and Promise of AI in Regulatory Enforcement
An overstretched, bloated, sclerotic, expensive civil service is turning to AI to expand capacity.
The Clinton/Gore job cuts created the government contracting behemoth by outsourcing whole chunks of the civil service. DOGE would undo this by replacing contracting and individual resources with software, especially AI tools.
This needs to be implemented carefully, though. We’re moving quickly. Are we doing so intelligently?
‘Still, the use of algorithmic tools in regulatory enforcement presents meaningful risks. As ACUS identified in an earlier statement, Agency Use of Artificial Intelligence, agency AI use poses a variety of risks, including limited transparency, inadequate oversight, harmful biases, and the potential for agency personnel to rely too much on decisions made by automated tools or systems.’
SEC Aims to Ease Regulations on DeFi After Years of Scrutiny
Smart contracts execute on-chain automatically, i.e., without human intervention based on triggering events and specified rules.
It looks like the SEC is taking its fingers out of its ears when it comes to this kind of new activity.
‘Speaking to DeFi experts during the “DeFi and the American Spirit” roundtable Monday (June 9), SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said industry developers should not be blamed for how their tools are used, according to a transcript of his remarks.
‘“Many entrepreneurs are developing software applications that are designed to function without administration by any operator,” Atkins said, per the transcript.
‘The SEC is considering changes to agency rules “to provide needed accommodation for issuers and intermediaries who seek to administer on-chain financial systems,” he said, according to the transcript.;
Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham on crypto regulation: There is no easy street for anybody
The prior administration tried to criminalize crypto with enforcement actions, in the absence of any legislation sanctioning the new technology.
While the sense may be that the smoking lamp is lit under this administration, there are still plenty of laws against fraudulent activity.
‘There is no easy street for anybody, and regulators aren't easy. So just because we are pro-innovation and pro-growth does not mean that you're going to be able to get away with breaking the law," acting Commodity Futures Trading Commission chair Caroline Pham told Yahoo Finance at the Coinbase (COIN) Annual Summit on Thursday (watch above).
‘"And this is where I'm talking about not twisting the law to criminalize an asset class or a technology, but I'm talking about lying, cheating, and stealing."’
SEC Undermines Legitimacy of Crypto Oversight, Watchdog Warns
A non-profit that wants the government to regulate crypto, presumably intensively, is upset that the SEC is halting the aggressive enforcement activities of the prior administration (executed without a legislative mandate). They want a public comment period so that they can lobby for the enforcement of rules not in the statutes, presumably.
‘Policy advocacy group Better Markets, a nonprofit organization focused on financial market reform and public interest protection, submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 11, sharply criticizing the Crypto Task Force’s approach to policymaking. The group called on the agency to abandon its reliance on staff-issued guidance documents and return to the more rigorous framework of public rulemaking.’