November 03, 2026

Transparent, Approved and Stoppable: A Standard for Government’s Use of AI

By: Jim Townsend

This article was originally published in The Hill.

State and federal agencies are now using artificial intelligence to help decide a host of life-altering issues such as who gets investigated for a crime and how law enforcement and the military direct their immense power. In most cases, no legislature voted to allow its use, no list tells the public what AI systems are being employed to help make these decisions, and no one knows for sure who can turn them off.

Specific legislation should be required to approve the use of AI systems, and it should set rules for vetting AI system capabilities, limiting their use, and ending their deployment unless they are certified to be safe.

Bill Gates said last month that lawmakers need to establish mandatory “safeguards and monitoring” for AI use. A consensus on comprehensive AI regulation, though, seems far away, and rules for the companies building these tools will take time. But there is no reason the government cannot begin policing its own use of AI today. Lawmakers do not have to wait to safeguard and monitor government AI use. They can do that now as they debate other ways to respond to AI.

Read the full article in The Hill.

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