All research

Pathways for Advancing AI Safety in Congress

Authors

Sarah Bollinger

Omar Beno

Peter Courtney

Michael A. Celone

Michelle Parker

Research team leader

Sarah Bollinger

AI Governance Taskforce

Autumn 2025

Full Paper

Policy brief

Why do AI safety arguments that command broad expert consensus fail to generate legislative traction in the United States?


This study provides strategic landscape analysis for advocates seeking to translate technical concerns into policy outcomes. Drawing on institutional analysis, comparative case studies, expert interviews, and analysis of Congressional hearing transcripts, we map the structural barriers (fragmented jurisdictions, limited technical capacity, short electoral cycles), political economy dynamics (industry lobbying, regulatory capture, bandwidth constraints), and framing challenges that shape Congressional receptivity to AI governance.


We examine how industry deploys similar strategies across U.S. states and the European Union, and identify what worked and what failed in California, Colorado, Texas, and Utah. The paper identifies narrow but real openings where bipartisan coalitions are forming: national security evaluations, child safety, and fraud prevention. Current AI models already present documented harms in these areas that align with existing legal frameworks.


We propose that progress requires embedding safety into administrative routines (rulemakings, procurement conditions, standards processes) that persist across electoral cycles, and building coalitions with sectors that need governance as a precondition for AI deployment. The strategic task is not to wait for better political conditions but to coordinate scattered efforts into an approach positioned to move when opportunities arise.

Alumni

Meet the authors

(Research Team Lead)

Sarah Bollinger

Sarah Bollinger is a Arcadia Senior Research Fellow at the Center for AI Risk Management & Alignment (CARMA) and Research Team Lead at Arcadia Impact, examining the intersection of geopolitical risk analysis and emerging technology policy.

With over a decade of experience spanning conflict analysis, strategic intelligence, and geopolitical risk assessment across humanitarian and private industry contexts, Sarah examines how political economy, institutional structures, and sociotechnical dynamics shape AI governance outcomes. She specialises in translating complex technical concepts for policymakers and bridging disciplinary divides between risk analysis and policy implementation.

Omar Beno

Omar Beno is a systems-minded strategist shaping policy, risk, and technology governance across public and private sectors.
He has led high-impact initiatives across HM Treasury, BEIS, and UBS, steering cross-government data strategy, leading strategic risk and resilience planning across critical industries, driving global transformation programmes, and advising on national spend and productivity strategy.
Trained in AI ethics and regulation at Oxford Saïd Business School and Stanford, and holding dual MScs from LSE, Omar combines analytical rigour, strategic foresight, and commercial acumen to design resilient governance for frontier technologies.

Peter Courtney

During twenty years with the FBI, Peter developed partnerships and wrote impactful analysis that prevented strategic surprise and protected elections and global events such as the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Peter's novel use of data unveiled trends in criminal behavior which led multiple countries to pass new laws.

He now brings his network and experience to address the problem of governing advanced AI responsibly.

Michael A. Celone

Michael A. Celone is a U.S. regulatory lawyer and a founder of the International AI Governance Lab at Harvard Law School. His work bridges law, policy, and technology to embed safety and fairness into AI systems ex ante.
Drawing on two decades of data-governance and machine-learning experience, he focuses on developing AI regulatory and governance frameworks that align innovation with public trust and transparency in ways that advance human dignity and societal good.

Michelle Parker

Michelle Parker is a technology and governance strategist with two decades of experience at the intersection of U.S. national security, foreign policy, and digital transformation. A former USAID Foreign Service Officer, she led the Agency’s first Digital Strategy and later directed 5G, AI, and cybersecurity initiatives across Central America and Mexico.
Her work now centers on AI governance and policy—helping governments and organizations build accountable, resilient, and future-ready approaches to emerging technology. She holds master’s degrees from the National Defense University and George Mason University.

Alumni

Meet the authors

Sarah Bollinger

(Research Team Lead)

Sarah Bollinger is a Arcadia Senior Research Fellow at the Center for AI Risk Management & Alignment (CARMA) and Research Team Lead at Arcadia Impact, examining the intersection of geopolitical risk analysis and emerging technology policy.

With over a decade of experience spanning conflict analysis, strategic intelligence, and geopolitical risk assessment across humanitarian and private industry contexts, Sarah examines how political economy, institutional structures, and sociotechnical dynamics shape AI governance outcomes. She specialises in translating complex technical concepts for policymakers and bridging disciplinary divides between risk analysis and policy implementation.

Omar Beno

Omar Beno is a systems-minded strategist shaping policy, risk, and technology governance across public and private sectors.
He has led high-impact initiatives across HM Treasury, BEIS, and UBS, steering cross-government data strategy, leading strategic risk and resilience planning across critical industries, driving global transformation programmes, and advising on national spend and productivity strategy.
Trained in AI ethics and regulation at Oxford Saïd Business School and Stanford, and holding dual MScs from LSE, Omar combines analytical rigour, strategic foresight, and commercial acumen to design resilient governance for frontier technologies.

Peter Courtney

During twenty years with the FBI, Peter developed partnerships and wrote impactful analysis that prevented strategic surprise and protected elections and global events such as the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Peter's novel use of data unveiled trends in criminal behavior which led multiple countries to pass new laws.

He now brings his network and experience to address the problem of governing advanced AI responsibly.

Michael A. Celone

Michael A. Celone is a U.S. regulatory lawyer and a founder of the International AI Governance Lab at Harvard Law School. His work bridges law, policy, and technology to embed safety and fairness into AI systems ex ante.
Drawing on two decades of data-governance and machine-learning experience, he focuses on developing AI regulatory and governance frameworks that align innovation with public trust and transparency in ways that advance human dignity and societal good.

Michelle Parker

Michelle Parker is a technology and governance strategist with two decades of experience at the intersection of U.S. national security, foreign policy, and digital transformation. A former USAID Foreign Service Officer, she led the Agency’s first Digital Strategy and later directed 5G, AI, and cybersecurity initiatives across Central America and Mexico.
Her work now centers on AI governance and policy—helping governments and organizations build accountable, resilient, and future-ready approaches to emerging technology. She holds master’s degrees from the National Defense University and George Mason University.

Programme

AI Governance Taskforce

The AI Governance Taskforce is a career development programme for experienced professionals looking to transition careers into AI governance, focussed on reducing risks from advanced AI.
Participants work around existing commitments during our 12 week, remote, part-time cohorts, producing policy research in teams of 4, led by our Research Team Lead staff in partnership with recognised experts in the field. Teams write an academic-style paper and accompanying blog post to build knowledge, skills and work portfolios.

Learn more