U.S. tech policy shifts toward AI safety and autonomous vehicles

In the second quarter of 2026, Congress advanced AI proposals covering chatbots used by minors, digital replicas, nonconsensual AI-generated intimate imagery, and content labeling. Measures included the House-passed KIDS Act, Senate chatbot bills such as the GUARD Act and SAFE KIDS Act, the NO FAKES Act of 2026 for voice and likeness rights, and disclosure or labeling proposals tied to AI-generated media.

The executive branch moved on frontier model security and national security uses of AI. President Trump signed an executive order on June 2, 2026 to create a framework for secure development of frontier AI models and an AI cybersecurity clearinghouse, while National Security Presidential Memorandum 11 directed defense and intelligence agencies to accelerate adoption. DOJ also intervened in xAI’s challenge to the Colorado AI Act, and NIST announced evaluation agreements with Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and xAI.

States enacted at least 35 AI-related bills, including laws on frontier model oversight, employment-related automated decision-making, chatbot safeguards, health insurance, and mental healthcare. Connected and automated vehicle activity included California rules extending oversight to heavy-duty vehicles over 10,000 pounds, House approval of autonomous trucking provisions, NHTSA brake-standard amendments for purpose-built autonomous vehicles, and UN approval of a Global Technical Regulation for ADS-equipped vehicles. IoT developments included the GUARD Act for foreign adversary robotics, FCC naming ioXt Alliance to administer the Cyber Trust Mark, and NIST finalizing IR 8259 Revision 1.