Ted Lieu

Ted Lieu (born 1969) is a Democratic congressman from Los Angeles County, an Air Force Reserve colonel, and one of only a handful of members of Congress with a computer science degree — credentials that made him the House’s most-quoted voice on AI regulation.

The congressman who codes

In January 2023, weeks after ChatGPT launched, Lieu published a New York Times op-ed titled “I’m a Congressman Who Codes. A.I. Freaks Me Out.” — its opening paragraph written by ChatGPT itself. He argued the technology’s risks, from biased algorithms to autonomous weapons, demanded a dedicated federal agency, and proposed a nonpartisan AI commission to design one. That same month he introduced the first congressional resolution ever written by an AI, directing ChatGPT to draft a measure calling on Congress to regulate the technology.

Lieu went on to co-chair the House’s bipartisan AI task force, whose 2024 report took a notably measured tone — sectoral rules rather than a single AI super-law. His positioning is deliberately double-edged: he calls himself enthralled by AI’s potential and uses it publicly, while insisting that leaving it “unchecked and unregulated” is the real danger. He has backed bills on AI in nuclear launch decisions, deepfake labeling, and federal AI procurement standards.

Critics of the agency idea note Congress has never chartered a regulator for a general-purpose technology, and that a licensing agency could freeze the field; Lieu’s task force work suggests he has absorbed some of that critique.