American AI regulation stands at a crossroads. As states like California pass sweeping AI laws while federal frameworks lag behind, a fundamental tension emerges: will America's fragmented legal landscape stifle innovation or become our greatest competitive advantage?
In this episode of Working Intelligence: Making Americans Irreplaceable, Kevin Frazier — AI Innovation and Law Fellow at the University of Texas School of Law — makes the case for embracing regulatory experimentation over uniformity. Join Kevin and Sophie Singletary as they explore why state-by-state "laboratories of democracy" might outpace centralized approaches, how regulatory sandboxes enable a "try first" mentality, and where AI moratoria miss the mark entirely.
This is a conversation about finding the sweet spot between legal certainty and innovation velocity, understanding what role cultural norms play beyond formal regulation, and recognizing how America's often-criticized legal fragmentation could actually counter China's centralized AI dominance. Frazier shares his vision for AI in government itself — not just regulating the technology, but using it to restore efficiency and legitimacy to public institutions. And in an age of deepening loneliness, he explains why AI companions might be part of the solution rather than the problem.