This is the most contested AI policy conversation in Washington right now. The administration's executive orders rescinding Biden's AI EO, the push to preempt state AI laws through the reconciliation bill, the dismantling of AI safety review processes, and the deregulatory posture toward Big Tech are generating active legislative conflict. This panel asks the defining question of 2026: who benefits when Washington steps back from AI oversight — and who bears the cost? Panelists represent the full spectrum: a former federal regulator who knows what is being dismantled, a civil-society leader on what deregulation means for communities, a competitive-district Republican navigating the Trump AI agenda, a think tank scholar on U.S. vs. global regulatory divergence, and a veteran Silicon Valley legislator delivering a 30-year perspective on what this moment actually means.
