There is still no broad agreement within government or the technology industry about how to regulate increasingly capable artificial intelligence systems, according to Rudolf Rojas, an IT manager at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Speaking Sept. 15 at the GovExec Government & AI Summit in Washington, Rojas said the rapid development of large language models has created both opportunities and serious concerns, yet the path forward remains unclear.
"It's a dangerous time, as well as an opportunistic time for the tools. Unfortunately, I think at this time there doesn't seem to be consensus within industry or government as to how to proceed," Rojas said. He added that some voices of reason exist within the companies building these systems, and that policymakers should work directly with them to develop rules.
Industry split on pace of development
Rojas acknowledged that companies developing the technology have a direct understanding of its capabilities and should be part of regulatory discussions. But the industry itself is not unified. "Nvidia is not all for collaboration and slowing things down. Whereas, OpenAI and some of those other tools are certainly worried about it," he said, noting that this disconnect requires stepping back to assess the situation.
The division was visible in recent days. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called Sept. 12 for a slower pace of AI development. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI CEO Elon Musk also backed calls to slow down. The split among major players complicates efforts to form a coherent industry position that government can engage with.
Government uncertainty and pushback
The lack of agreement extends to the federal government. President Donald Trump on Sept. 14 pushed back against calls for additional federal AI regulation, arguing that existing authority is sufficient to address risks. He warned that further restrictions could hurt U.S. competitiveness and benefit China.
For government professionals navigating this space, understanding both the technology and the policy tensions is increasingly critical. Resources like the AI Learning Path for Policy Makers can help bridge the gap between technical capabilities and the regulatory questions now under debate.
Rojas said the uncertainty about what role policymakers should play mirrors the industry's own divisions. Without consensus among the companies building frontier AI systems, government agencies lack a clear signal on where to focus regulatory efforts. The result is a holding pattern at a moment when the technology is advancing quickly.
Why this matters for government professionals
Federal IT managers and agency leaders are operating in an environment where the tools are moving faster than the rules. Rojas's comments reflect a practical reality: until industry and government reach some alignment, agencies will need to develop their own internal frameworks for evaluating and deploying AI. That means building literacy now, not waiting for a final regulatory blueprint. For teams working on AI for Government applications, the current ambiguity places a premium on understanding both the technology's limits and the policy debates shaping its future.
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