U.S. lawmakers increasingly use AI to write legislative proposals — Politico
U.S. Congress (Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)
Congressional legal counsels are struggling to handle a growing influx of legislative proposals drafted using artificial intelligence, Politico reported on Aug. 17, citing eight current and former officials.
Officials noted that in many instances, AI-generated bills are riddled with errors. The extensive revisions required by congressional attorneys risk delaying legislative timelines and introducing significant litigation vulnerabilities tied to misquoted statutory provisions or flawed legal definitions.
According to sources cited by the outlet, lawyers frequently spend more time correcting widespread errors than they would drafting the documents from scratch. Another major challenge involves AI-generated bills citing non-existent or incorrect sections of existing statutes and the U.S. Code.
Sources also highlighted that AI reliance affects not only text quality but also lawmakers' substantive grasp of their own proposals. Individuals introducing these drafts frequently struggle to articulate the specific policy outcomes they intend to achieve.
The integration of artificial intelligence on Capitol Hill demonstrates how this rapidly advancing technology—which is already transforming software development, defense, entertainment, and numerous other sectors—could unpredictably reshape legislation affecting millions of Americans.
"Artificial intelligence is useful in many fields," noted Daniel Schuman, executive director of the American Governance Institute, a non-profit organization focused on modernizing government technology.
"It is not ready to write statutory language that you’d want to pass into law."
A source who advised government officials on AI adoption noted that lawmakers and their aides frequently turn to large language models like ChatGPT or Claude to generate statutory text.
The U.S. Department of Justice emphasized that primary responsibility for introduced legislation rests entirely on members of Congress and their staff.
"That responsibility cannot be outsourced to a chatbot," the Department stated.
To date, there are no confirmed instances in which the House of Representatives or the Senate has voted on legislation authored entirely by artificial intelligence, Politico noted.
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