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AI is not just a chatbot, Adobe exec tells policymakers

Sep 19, 2025, 1:03pm EDT
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The US Capitol at sunset.
Kevin Carter/Getty

Adobe Chief Legal Officer Louise Pentland has a message for policymakers: AI is not all about having conversations with chatbots. She is among a host of tech executives who have been making the rounds in Washington to widen the aperture of how regulators think about the technology beyond the use cases that make headlines. Other sectors beyond the hot AI startups and big tech companies are also pushing to be heard, from manufacturing to biotech to energy.

For Adobe, the goals are to protect creators, ensure access, and avoid stifling innovation. And while a federal US framework is preferred, versus a patchwork of state rules, Pentland told Semafor that companies can’t afford to wait for those rules, given how fast the technology is developing. “Our mission is to create greenshoots of sensible legislation,” she said. “Like we can all agree that deepfakes aren’t good. That’s a no-brainer.”

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