Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Promote AI Foundation Model Transparency

Reps Don Beyer (D-VA), Mike Lawler (R-NY), and Sara Jacobs (D-CA) introduced the AI Foundation Model Transparency Act (H.R.8094), landmark bipartisan legislation to establish transparency requirements for how artificial intelligence (AI) foundation models are built, trained, and deployed. The AI Foundation Model Transparency Act would direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—in consultation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Secretary of Commerce, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)—to set standards for what information high-impact foundation models must provide to the FTC and what information they must make available to the public. Information identified for increased transparency would include a sufficiently detailed summary of training data used, how the model is trained, and whether user data is collected during use. The information provided in this bill would be useful for consumer protection and for artists and creators who otherwise have very limited insight into training data—addressing widespread concerns about AI from businesses and individuals alike.