Agentic AI Is New—But We Already Have the Tools to Regulate It

Agentic artificial intelligence has exploded into headlines this year. 

Proponents predict that autonomous AI agents will revolutionize industries and our daily lives, including how we work, shop, and otherwise engage with the world. Skeptics question whether AI technology is ready for that autonomy—and whether we are.

But although the phrase “agentic AI” may be new, the risks presented by this upcoming technology aren’t. It would be a fool’s errand to attempt to draft new bodies of law for every iterative step forward in AI technologies—at least if we want laws to be coherent and capable of being implemented and followed as a practical and technical matter, across jurisdictions.

Instead, legislators and regulatory enforcers can best focus their efforts on determining how to apply existing laws to prevent and remedy potential harms to their constituents from agentic AI.