At least one representative says Congress needs to lead on the issue.
AI chatbots and other creative apps are making Artificial Intelligence the best toy on the block right now. But Colorado Congressman Jeff Crank says it's also a deadly serious business.
“We're using AI in the architecture for Golden Dome, protecting the United States, making the decision of, ‘Oh, is this really an incoming threat?’ It can do things like that lightning fast.”
Crank, a Republican, says the real race is between the U.S. and China as to who will define the terms and put up the fences. He says Congress has to get to work.
China and the United States are in a highly competitive race for artificial intelligence supremacy, with both nations investing heavily and pursuing distinct strategic approaches. As of late 2025, the gap between the two countries is narrowing, with China making significant strides in AI applications, patents, and open-source models, while the U.S. maintains a lead in foundational research and the development of leading-edge AI models.
“There's obviously got to be some regulation of AI, but at the same time, I mean, America needs to be the leader in artificial intelligence," Crank said.
He says a patchwork of state regulations won't work either.
“We need to set up a very light touch regulatory scheme at the federal level that protects children, protects families, but we shouldn't overregulate it. And that's usually what happens with new technology as people get afraid of it.”
Crank says there's a lot of work to be done crafting that light regulatory scheme, but Congress has already started addressing some of the issues, starting with preparing the American workforce to produce the kinds of jobs that won't be replaced by AI.
“One of the things we did in the One Big Beautiful Bill is that we allowed Pell Grants and government student loans to actually be used at trade schools.”
