Who’s Regulating the Future?

The average age in Congress is around 58 years old. That’s not ancient by any means—but in the world of technology, it matters. Especially when we’re talking about regulating something as fast-moving and complex as artificial intelligence.

AI doesn’t follow the pace of traditional innovation. It doesn’t wait for committees, hearings, or bipartisan consensus. It evolves by the week. And yet, we’re relying on lawmakers—most of whom didn’t grow up with the internet, much less machine learning—to guide us through one of the most profound technological shifts in human history.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t about ageism. It’s about cultural and technological fluency. You can be 25 and clueless about AI, or 75 and deeply informed. But when the average age of decision-makers hovers near 60, and their track record with emerging tech looks like a string of confused hearings and half-measures, it’s fair to ask: Are we regulating this moment with the urgency and understanding it demands?

Think about it. Congress has struggled to regulate social media—a technology that’s been mainstream for over 15 years. Deepfakes, data privacy, algorithmic bias… all of it has largely slipped through the cracks. And now we’re entering the AI era, where tools are capable of writing code, generating art, making decisions, and soon—very possibly—replicating human reasoning at scale.

By the time a congressional committee fully grasps the basics of generative AI, we may already be in the next phase: autonomous agents negotiating contracts, AI models designing better versions of themselves, or synthetic voices running customer service for half the Fortune 500. It’s not science fiction—it’s this decade.

So what’s the solution?

We need more interdisciplinary thinkers in the room—people who understand the tech, the ethics, and the human impact. That doesn’t just mean younger politicians, but more collaboration with technologists, ethicists, educators, and yes, creators. People who live with these tools every day. People who understand how they work—not just what they fear.

Regulating AI isn’t just about preventing harm—it’s about shaping the future. If we let outdated systems dictate how the most powerful tools of our time are governed, we risk building a future that no one fully understands—and that’s the real problem.

Later,

Darrian Douglas