Adam Conner writes on technology and AI policy at the Center for American Progress (CAP). In 2026 he authored or co-authored CAP analyses on executive oversight of frontier AI, US–China coordination on the pace of frontier development, and federal regulatory sandboxes.
Positions and publications
Frontier-model oversight. In an August 6, 2026 article, Conner argued that the administration's framework for frontier models amounted to a licensing system: "Without any explicit statutory authority from Congress, and in near-total secrecy, President Donald Trump has assumed control over the release of powerful new frontier AI models through the functional equivalent of a licensing regime" (Source: americanprogress.org). See Frontier AI Governance.
US–China pacing. With Damian Murphy and Jonathan Fritz, Conner wrote a September 10, 2026 analysis urging the United States and China to use their September 2026 AI dialogue to discuss "pacing the frontier" (Source: americanprogress.org). See Coordinated slowdown proposals compared.
SANDBOX Act. With Nicole Alvarez, Conner co-wrote the September 2026 report "The SANDBOX Act Uses AI Policy as a Trojan Horse for Unfettered Deregulation," which argues that Sen. Ted Cruz's SANDBOX Act "is not an AI bill" but "a deregulatory proposal that uses AI as a pretext to place virtually the entire federal regulatory system under the authority of a single White House official" (The SANDBOX Act Uses AI Policy as a Trojan Horse for Unfettered Deregulation (Center for American Progress, September 2026)).
Relationships
- related: Center for American Progress — employer
- related: The SANDBOX Act Uses AI Policy as a Trojan Horse for Unfettered Deregulation (Center for American Progress, September 2026) — co-author
- related: Nicole Alvarez — co-author
- related: Coordinated slowdown proposals compared, Frontier AI Governance, SANDBOX Act (S. 2750)