Tech Policy News: “Since the explosion of ChatGPT about a year ago, it seems that policymakers everywhere want to regulate artificial intelligence. It has become a focus of Congressional attention with Senator Chuck Schumer’s recent AI Insight Forum.  This is all to the good, given that many of our troubles with the online world stem from a failure to regulate early on, when real and potential harms of a new technology are already apparent. But there is a right way to do it and a wrong way. Moreover, in pursuing the shiny new toy of AI regulation, Congress should not neglect the vital task of regulating digital platforms.  For three administrations, the US has followed the principle of regulating the uses of AI, not the technology itself.  This comes from taking seriously the conclusion reached years ago by the Stanford University Study Panel of AI experts that “…attempts to regulate ‘AI’ in general would be misguided, since there is no clear definition of AI (it isn’t any one thing), and the risks and considerations are very different in different domains.”  In this sector-specific approach, if AI is used, for instance, to assess creditworthiness, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must make sure the assessment follows the fair lending laws. If AI is used to make employment or promotion decisions, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission should make sure it doesn’t discriminate against legally protected classes. Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan summarized this approach to AI regulation as “There is no AI exception to the laws on the books.”