A bipartisan group of senators and House lawmakers this week introduced a bill to create regulatory “sandboxes” for artificial intelligence test projects at financial regulatory agencies.
The Unleashing AI Innovation in Financial Services Act [H.R. 4801] would direct seven regulatory agencies to establish an “AI Innovation Lab” to allow regulated entities to experiment with AI test projects “without unnecessary or unduly burdensome regulation or expectation of enforcement actions.”
The agencies are the Federal Reserve, FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Securities and Exchange Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, National Credit Union Administration and Federal Housing Finance Agency.
“As AI continues to evolve, we must understand its full impact because it will touch every part of our lives,” said House Financial Service Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.), who is one of the co-sponsors of the bill. “The Unleashing AI Innovation in Financial Services Act ensures that federal financial agencies allow the companies they oversee to experiment with AI through regulatory sandboxes.”
The other House sponsors are Reps. Richie Torres (D-N.Y.), Bryan Steil (R-Wisc.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) are sponsoring the bill in the Senate.
In related news, House and Senate lawmakers have introduced legislation aimed at fighting AI-enabled fraud. The Preventing Deep Fakes Act (H.R. 1734 and S. 2771) would establish the Task Force on Artificial Intelligence in the Financial Services Sector to report to Congress on issues related to AI in the financial services sector.
