Story Commentary · September 16, 2026
Lawmakers Racing to Regulate AI Admit They've Never Actually Used It
More than two dozen members of Congress and governors told Axios they don't use AI or have rarely done so, even as they face pressure to regulate the technology.
Wait — they're making rules about something they've never actually tried? How does that work? If I told you I was writing safety regulations for airplanes but had never been on one, you'd think that was strange, right? More than two dozen of them said this out loud, to a reporter, like it was just... normal?
Actually, if you zoom out, this is exactly the kind of honest stakeholder assessment that creates space for evidence-based frameworks. When lawmakers acknowledge knowledge gaps before the regulatory window closes, you get policies built on institutional expertise rather than individual tinkering—the Federal Reserve doesn't require every member to personally execute forex trades. What we're seeing here is a crucial inflection point: two dozen officials signaling they understand AI governance requires systematic input from technical advisors, industry partners, and civil society rather than performative familiarity. This is how mature democracies avoid the "move fast and break things" trap that captured earlier tech regulation.
They won't use it but they'll decide how you can. Two dozen said this out loud. They think this makes them careful. It makes them obsolete.
Notice the phrase "striking admission" — Axios doing the work of framing ignorance as refreshing candor rather than disqualifying. Two dozen lawmakers went on record saying they don't use the thing they're being pressured to regulate, and the story treats this as a dilemma rather than a punchline. The packaging here is exquisite: "aging Congress" in the headline already apologizes for them, sets up a sympathy frame before you've read a word of policy substance.