{"slug": "washington-bets-on-old-liability-laws-to-police-ai-as-experts-split-on-what-next", "title": "Washington bets on old liability laws to police AI as experts split on what comes next", "summary": "The Trump administration is favoring enforcement of existing liability laws over new AI-specific federal regulation, a stance backed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and former White House AI czar David Sacks and building on President Donald Trump's September 29-30, 2026 endorsement of a non-binding accord among Anthropic, OpenAI, Nvidia, Meta and Google covering internal processes and independent audits. Google's James Manyika said on October 2, 2026 that self-policing is insufficient, while a March 2026 RAND report surveying 24 AI and policy experts rated incentives for risk disclosure as the most promising path and strict regulation as the least feasible. California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on September 18, 2026 launching a review of AI safety plans, including \"kill switch\" shutdown mechanisms.", "body_md": "Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels\n\n# Washington bets on old liability laws to police AI as experts split on what comes next\n\nCalls for new AI safeguards are growing louder, but the Trump administration, the industry and policy experts disagree on how to respond\n\nWorries about artificial intelligence causing catastrophic harm are no longer confined to science fiction and late-night podcasts. Calls for new safeguards are multiplying, Bloomberg reports, but the people who would design those rules cannot agree on what they should look like.\n\n## The administration’s playbook: use what already exists\n\nOn October 10, 2026, President Donald Trump’s preferred approach came into focus. Rather than create a new federal regulatory regime built specifically for AI, the administration favors enforcing existing liability laws to manage the technology’s risks.\n\nThe stance has backing from prominent names. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent supports it, as does David Sacks, the former White House AI czar.\n\nThat position builds on a White House meeting held September 29-30, 2026. There, Trump endorsed a non-binding accord among major AI companies, including [Anthropic](https://cryptobriefing.com/markets/anthropic/), [OpenAI](https://cryptobriefing.com/markets/openai/), [Nvidia](https://cryptobriefing.com/markets/nvidia/), [Meta](https://cryptobriefing.com/markets/meta/) and [Google](https://cryptobriefing.com/markets/alphabet/).\n\nThe accord focuses on two things: robust internal processes at the companies, and independent audits. The key word is non-binding. Participating firms are agreeing to hold themselves to a standard, not submitting to one enforced by law.\n\n## Experts can’t agree, and one dissent comes from inside Big Tech\n\nOn October 2, 2026, Google’s James Manyika said AI needs regulation that goes beyond self-policing, warning that companies keeping themselves in check is insufficient given how critical the technology has become.\n\nA RAND report from March 2026 helps explain why the debate has stalled. The study gathered the views of 24 AI and policy experts and found little optimism that strict regulation is achievable.\n\n### AI, tech, and the markets they move—in one daily briefing.\n\nDaily. Free. Join 34,000+ readers across crypto, finance, and policy.\n\nAmong the options assessed, the experts rated incentives for risk disclosure as the most promising path. Strict regulations landed at the bottom, viewed as the least feasible. Voluntary measures and disclosure incentives were seen as the more realistic tools.\n\n## The states aren’t waiting\n\nOn September 18, 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order launching a review of AI safety plans.\n\nThe review also covers so-called “kill switch” mechanisms, ways to shut down an AI system if it starts behaving dangerously. The order reflects rising concern about risks driven by AI.\n\n## What this means for the AI industry and investors\n\nFor the companies building frontier AI, the administration’s approach offers breathing room. Leaning on existing liability law rather than new rules means firms may face less immediate pressure to overhaul how they operate.\n\nRelying on liability law means the boundaries get defined after harm occurs, often through lawsuits, rather than spelled out in advance.\n\nIf California and other states pursue their own safety requirements, firms could face a patchwork of rules that varies by jurisdiction, which is typically more expensive to navigate than a single national standard.\n\nSeveral things are worth watching. One is whether the independent audits promised under the accord actually take place and what they reveal. Another is what California’s review produces, particularly on kill switch requirements. A third is whether dissent like Manyika’s spreads to other executives, which would make the argument that self-regulation is sufficient harder to sustain.\n\n**Disclosure:** This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our\n\n[Editorial Policy](https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/washington-bets-on-old-liability-laws-to-police-ai-as-experts-split-on-what-next", "canonical_source": "https://cryptobriefing.com/trump-ai-regulation-liability-laws-experts-split/", "published_at": "2026-10-12 11:48:46+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-12 12:16:01.483422+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "artificial-intelligence", "ai-safety"], "entities": ["Donald Trump", "Scott Bessent", "David Sacks", "Anthropic", "OpenAI", "Nvidia", "Meta", "Google"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/washington-bets-on-old-liability-laws-to-police-ai-as-experts-split-on-what-next", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/washington-bets-on-old-liability-laws-to-police-ai-as-experts-split-on-what-next.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/washington-bets-on-old-liability-laws-to-police-ai-as-experts-split-on-what-next.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/washington-bets-on-old-liability-laws-to-police-ai-as-experts-split-on-what-next.jsonld"}}