Why Your AI Strategy Should Align With DC’s Policy Priorities in 2025
A new bipartisan House report on AI uncovers both areas of consensus and potential points of conflict among policymakers and legislators. Taken as a whole, the report also provides a useful roadmap for banks who are gearing up their AI initiatives. Two key themes: Take care when innovating and make sure your workforce's AI literacy doesn't fall behind.
By Benjamin Udell, SVP Product Marketing & Innovation, Marquis
Getting started with Artificial Intelligence (AI), or knowing your boundaries in banking, continues to create uncertainty and anxiety in the banking industry. AI is actively reshaping how many bankers work, but with limited direction and training we’re hesitant in what steps we take now.
A tool to help you think more critically about AI in 2025 is the Bipartisan House Task Force Report on Artificial Intelligence. The report, published in December 2024, offers a wealth of insights to help you think about how the United States government is thinking about AI—without partisan fighting. Created by a truly bipartisan task force, it is 273 pages focused on the importance of AI to our future workforce, industries, and American interests.
It is a long read, but here are some guidance and thoughts to help you jumpstart your review. If you do nothing else, read the Philosophy and Principles section.
If You’ve Got 5 Minutes: Read the three-page Philosophy and Principles section on pages vi through vii. This is a high-level section that frames the document around how the House Task Force is thinking through AI’s impact on our future.
If You’ve Got 10 Minutes: Continue to read through their executive summary by industry on pages ix through xix. You’ll see perspectives across many industries and concepts, including Financial Services, which will help you think more critically about your role and the clients you might serve.
If You’ve Got 60 Minutes: Read the Financial Services section on pages 221-238, digest the content, and follow the links. There are great insights, although few answers, that will help you think through guardrails and expectations you can apply in your organization.
If You’ve Got All Day: Accelerate your thinking about AI by reading all 273 pages.
Why Does This Report Matter?
The report makes one thing clear: Members of the U.S. House feel strongly about AI’s potential for America. AI is pivotal to America’s future—economically, socially, and strategically. Congress is taking steps to ensure AI is adopted responsibly, not just by businesses but within government itself. The task force emphasizes promoting AI while safeguarding against its risks.
Here are some standout ideas I thought were very relevant:
1. Differentiating AI-Specific Issues
Not all challenges brought by AI are new. The report highlights the need to identify whether an issue is unique to AI or an extension of existing systemic problems. This nuanced approach ensures that policies are targeted and effective.
As you begin to use AI in a business setting, this is your reminder that AI doesn’t supersede existing laws or regulatory guidelines. AI supports how you work. However, AI will create brand new issues which will require new laws or guidance.
For instance, Fair Lending applies whether you do or do not engage with AI. Addressing copyright issues created because of AI will be a more complex topic and not solved soon.
2. AI As Both Problem and Solution
A particularly powerful insight states, "For every problem that AI creates, AI can be a candidate for helping to remediate or solve that problem." This perspective encourages innovative thinking when addressing AI-induced challenges.
In my experience with everyday AI, an example of this is addressing bias and factual information. Some users will uncover bias with AI’s outputs, or not receive factual information, and automatically distrust output.
In reality, we can use AI to detect bias and point out concerns, while also fact checking and citing sources. AI can do this at scale, faster, and with greater perspectives, helping our industry become more engaged at detecting bias while being more consumer focused.
3. Incremental Policy Evolution
Policymakers recognize that AI is evolving at breakneck speed. Rather than rushing sweeping legislation, Congress aims to adapt laws incrementally, staying aligned with AI’s development trajectory.
Candidly, who’s expecting Congress to act quickly on this topic? The report reinforces that actions will develop over time. For most everyday users the key requirement is to ensure you are not acting outside boundaries already in place.
4. Keeping Humans at the Center
AI policies must prioritize human impact and freedom. From labor market shifts to ethical considerations in algorithmic decision-making, the human dimension remains critical.
This topic is vital when taking initial steps with everyday AI. A human is part of the initial AI interaction, they’re part of the engagement as you use AI, and AI is never the last step before using outputs.
For most professionals, starting with generative AI solutions like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, or Google’s Gemini is a big step. Understanding gen AI will help lead to greater opportunities with more complex AI tools and solutions. But the benefit of starting with gen AI tools is that you, the human, are in the loop and in control through the entire process.
Two Key Takeaways For Bankers
The report addresses many sectors of our economy including the financial services sector, emphasizing that AI can transform everything from customer interactions to regulatory compliance. Two topics really stood out for me for professionals in the financial services sector.
It’s clear the government is being pushed to define more clearly use cases, guardrails, and an overall openness and encouragement. The House Task Force is encouraging financial services to innovate while ensuring consumer protection and equity. It was very encouraging to see the House Task Force specifically focus on encouraging innovation and usage (with the right amount of caution). Your actionable step may not be building AI tools; it can certainly be writing content, upskilling your workforce by using AI as a tutor, or finding everyday solutions to begin to understand the transformative power of AI.
The creation of controlled environments (for bankers and credit unions, and regulators) allow for testing AI applications under regulatory oversight, promoting innovation without compromising safety. We’ll get there, but there is a clear need to ensure regulators are engaged with AI. Note that this is more than ChatGPT and gen AI, it’s machine learning, algorithmic solutions, voice and video, and all forms of AI.
Banks and credit unions can begin to create their own sandboxes, pilot groups, and test users to appreciate impactful solutions and use cases. In doing so, you’ll build skills and knowledge on use cases, while better defining your guardrails and internal use cases. When an examiner starts to ask you about usage, you’ll have insights to share what is and isn’t working based on safe and thoughtful experiences.
AI Education and Literacy
Companies must upskill their workforce to handle AI responsibly. This is a clearly understood need (even though most haven’t taken steps to do so). The House Task Force very clearly recognizes the transformative power of AI and the need for workers to be at the forefront of these developments. They were explicit with the need to develop workforce skills. For every bank or credit union sitting on the sideline, not offering training, not creating positions, or not adding AI to job requirements—this is the push you need to get started.
AI adoption hinges on skills, talent, and knowledge. The report underscores the urgent need for AI literacy, starting from K-12 education to workforce upskilling. Organizations are encouraged to begin to:
- Define AI-related job roles clearly.
- Offer targeted training programs.
- Collaborate with educational institutions to ensure curricula align with industry needs.
Reading the Education & Workforce section on page 87 was enlightening and encouraging. The House Task Force is thinking about American worker competitiveness in the near and long-term future. There’s no roadmap on this topic. Every banker wants to be more "innovative", and now there is a great opportunity sitting in front of all of us, giving us the chance to truly be innovative.
At its core, the report is a reminder of AI’s transformative potential—not just for businesses, but for society and the American workforce. While the hype cycles might fluctuate, AI’s long-term opportunities remain undeniable. AI’s evolution is inevitable, but how we adapt to it is up to us with innovative leaders already off to a fast start. Use the principles outlined in this report as a North Star to guide your journey into the AI-powered future.
