Bills this week aim to regulate how children interact with and learn about AI, give America’s farmers more AI equipment and add AI regulation to Medicare claim denials. #
Universal screen time standards
A new bill asks the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop new voluntary standards that would act as guidance for parents in managing screen time for children.
The Tracking Online Time And Limits Screen Time Act, unveiled on July 15 by Reps. Pat Harrigan, D-N.C., and George Whitesides, D-Calif., asks NIST to solicit feedback from appropriate stakeholders to develop best practices for setting screen time limits on various devices for children, with the goal of developing a universal screen time standard.
Those stakeholders include various government officials — including the chair of the Federal Trade Commission and the surgeon general — as well as privacy advocates, international standards-setting bodies and organizations composed of children's doctors.
“Parents know exactly how frustrating this is,” Harrigan said in a press release. “You can set limits on your child's phone, but then they move to a tablet, a gaming console, or the TV and you're right back where you started. This bill brings everyone to the table to develop one voluntary standard that gives parents a simple, consistent way to manage screen time across devices without sacrificing privacy or creating another government mandate.”
The culmination of NIST’s work with the stakeholders would be a publicly available website detailing the technical standard for screen time.
Elementary school AI education
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., introduced a proposal on July 14 that seeks to amend a longstanding education law to incorporate more details about the dangers and uses of artificial intelligence.
The Safeguard Kids Act would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow schools to teach students about “dangers, limitations, and responsible use” of AI systems.
“Artificial Intelligence has the potential to be the greatest information innovation since the printing press, but technology is only as good as our ability to use it well and for the right reasons,” Scott said in a press release. “We cannot let AI be the wild west and hope our kids figure it out; that doesn’t work. It’s on us to guide them as they grow. We need to teach kids about the risks associated with AI, so they can be the kind of principled innovators, leaders, and job creators America’s future economy needs.”
In addition to amending the 1965 law, the bill would also permit Student Support and Academic Enrichment Federal Block Grants to be used to fund both AI literacy and specialized counseling programs. Following introduction, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
AI for farmers
Rep. Zachary Nunn, R-Iowa, introduced a bill on July 14 that would increase farmers’ access to AI technologies through programs based in the Department of Agriculture.
The Fostering Agricultural Research and Modernization through Artificial Intelligence, or the FARM AI Act, wants to modernize the federal government’s research and workforce programs available to farmers and agricultural workers.
The proposal would formally designate AI as a priority research area within USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and expand AI research through the agency’s Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority.
It would also outfit the USDA’s Extension System with more resources for farmers to adopt AI into their agricultural practices, expand USDA grants and fellowships with a focus on modernization and AI, and designate a senior USDA official as the inaugural AI in Agriculture Advisor.
“Iowa farmers have always been the first to put new technology to work when it helps them grow more efficiently, conserve resources, and stay competitive,” Nunn said in a press release. “Artificial intelligence is the next frontier. From yield mapping and precision nutrient application to disease detection and water conservation, AI gives farmers better information to make better decisions in real time.”
AI in Medicare Advantage claim denials
A bill introduced by Rep. Herbert Conaway, D-N.J., seeks to amend the Social Security Act of 1935 to incorporate requirements for how AI is used in prior authorization denials by Medicare Advantage organizations.
H.R.9734, introduced on July 16, would target Title 18 of the Social Security Act to codify more rules surrounding AI in Medicare Advantage claim denials.
Following introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
**AI in arbitration **
Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., introduced a bill on July 15 that would permit the use of AI in legal arbitration proceedings.
Arbitration is a legal process where two parties agree to have a third party, or arbitrator, evaluate their dispute outside of a court system. Schweikert’s bill would codify the legality of AI’s usage in these proceedings.
Following introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Human judgement in AI-enabled lethal force
On July 16, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., teamed up with Reps. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., and Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., to introduce the Human Authority over Autonomous Weapons Act.
The bill adds to previous legislation that seeks to regulate how the Pentagon uses AI in offensive systems and procedures, in particular by directing the Secretary of Defense to ensure that AI-enabled military systems and autonomous weapons are all subject to a sufficient level of “meaningful human oversight.”
“No machine should ever be given the power to decide to kill a human being on its own,” Beyer said in a press release. “Allowing AI systems to independently select and engage targets carries serious risks; machines cannot understand morality or the value of human life, nor can they be held accountable for mistakes, war crimes, or catastrophic escalation.”
The bill would specifically amend Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the governing principles of the U.S. Armed Forces, to identify the human commander or operator who is accountable for and in charge of any AI-enabled system. In the bill’s text, it particularly stipulates the need for keeping humans in the loop during the use of lethal force.
“AI mistakes on the battlefield have the potential to be catastrophic: civilian casualties, friendly fire, unintended escalation, and calculations made on faulty data,” said Jacobs in the same release. “These aren’t risks worth taking — not when they can result in unnecessary lives lost or war. This is a common-sense step to help our military keep pace with emerging technologies while upholding our commitments to international humanitarian law and ethics.”