The AI ​​industry is about to change! The US Democratic Party will introduce several new regulatory bills and take a look at the legislative direction

After taking control of the U.S. Congress in January next year, the Democratic Party plans to introduce a large number of new bills targeting the development of artificial intelligence (AI) systems and data centers. Pictured is the U.S. Capitol Building. (Reuters)

[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] The U.S. midterm elections have ended, and the Democratic Party has won a resounding victory. Foreign media pointed out that U.S. congressmen, congressional staff and advocates said that after taking control of the U.S. Congress in January next year, the Democratic Party plans to introduce a large number of new bills targeting the development of artificial intelligence (AI) systems and data centers. These plans will represent a major change in the policy direction of the U.S. Congress.

"Reuters" reported that the U.S. Congress, dominated by Republicans, has mostly focused on promoting the development of AI and has refused to pass bills that restrict some applications of this technology. After the election, Democrats plan to introduce some bills aimed at protecting consumers from rising electricity prices related to data centers, requiring independent testing of advanced AI systems, and clarifying when AI companies must be held legally responsible for harm caused by their products.

While any bill will face significant resistance to passing as long as Republican President Trump remains in the White House, Democratic lawmakers and outside advocates say taking control of congressional committees will allow them to push forward relevant proposals, require industry leaders to testify, and build support for action when AI systems cause actual harm.

Greg Casar, a Democratic congressman from Texas and chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said this week that top executives of AI companies should be required to testify under oath. New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, who is expected to be the Senate majority leader, said at an event in Washington on Thursday that protecting consumers from the higher energy costs caused by the rapid expansion of data centers will be one of his policy priorities next year.

Massachusetts Democratic Representative Lori Trahan is one of the most representative figures in the Democratic Party on AI policy issues. Francis Grubar, Trahan's deputy chief of staff, said Trahan plans to push for legislation that would require independent experts to evaluate major AI models based on safety standards. He also said that Trahan will also push for another bill to clarify whether companies must be held responsible when AI systems operate in harmful ways.

Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren from California, who is seeking to serve as chair of the House Science Committee, said that the Democratic Party will focus on formulating "responsible AI regulations while promoting innovation."

Michigan Democratic U.S. Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed won the election on Tuesday (3rd). During his campaign, he advocated for the creation of an independent agency to oversee AI regulation and giving it the power to regulate technology companies developing this technology.

The American public's doubts about AI are already quite high. According to a Reuters poll released in October, a majority of American voters believe that the Trump administration and Congress have not paid enough attention to the risks posed by AI and hope that the government will formulate new regulatory norms for this technology.

The Democratic Party also plans to use its new powers to strengthen supervision of the most influential companies in the industry, including OpenAI and Anthropic. Lofgren and other Democratic House committee leaders in October asked OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Alphabet's Google and SpaceX to detail their security measures and report cases in which their AI tools took actions that their designers did not intend for them to perform.

If two-thirds of the members of both houses support it, Congress can override the president's veto. Ed Mills, director of policy research at Raymond James, said Democrats may also try to incorporate AI regulatory provisions into routine bills that Congress must pass every year.