Congressman Troy Downing’s AI-WISE Act (H.R. 5784) has passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support and will now move to the Senate for consideration. The bill, sponsored by Congresswoman Hillary Scholten, aims to assist small businesses in rural communities by providing resources and information to help them adopt new technologies.
“The small businesses in rural communities that I represent often lack the resources and information needed to facilitate technology adoption,” said Congressman Downing. “My AI-WISE Act will help Main Street Montana stay competitive and thrive in the AI era. I’m proud to be leading this legislation with Congresswoman Scholten and urge the Senate to take it up immediately.”
The legislation has received endorsements from both OpenAI and Intuit. OpenAI stated, “OpenAI also strongly supports H.R. 5784, the Artificial Intelligence Wisdom for Innovative Small Enterprises (AI WISE) Act. This bill would require the Small Business Administration to develop and maintain clear educational resources and online learning modules that explain how AI tools work, their limitations and risks, how to identify AI-generated outputs, and how to stay current as this technology rapidly evolves. We are encouraged that the bill directs SBA to consult with NIST and an expert advisory working group, to engage resource partners such as SBDCs and Women’s Business Centers, and to ensure that materials are actionable, accessible, and model neutral rather than favoring any one AI provider. We thank Representatives Troy Downing and Hillary Scholten for recognizing that improving AI literacy is essential if small businesses are to harness AI’s benefits while avoiding its pitfalls.”
Intuit also expressed support: “We write today to express our support of H.R. 5784, the Artificial Intelligence Wisdom for Innovative Small Enterprises Act or the ‘AI-WISE Act’. Intuit’s mission is to power prosperity around the world and we believe that artificial intelligence (AI) represents the most transformative technology of our generation, offering unparalleled opportunities for small businesses to save time, increase productivity, and achieve financial success.
“However, the effective adoption of AI, especially complex ‘agentic AI’ now being integrated into financial and marketing solutions requires a foundational level of education and trust. The AI-WISE Act addresses this critical need by directing the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish high-quality, actionable, and neutral educational resources for small business concerns.”
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that nearly one in four businesses are uncertain about whether they will use artificial intelligence in production over the next six months.
If enacted into law, H.R. 5784 would require the Small Business Administration (SBA) to create educational materials on its e-learning platform aimed at increasing understanding of artificial intelligence among small business owners so they can better evaluate potential benefits or drawbacks before adopting these tools.
Additional cosponsors include Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Gil Cisneros (CA-31), and Maggie Goodlander (NH-02).
