A question as old as democracy itself is being asked again, this time about artificial intelligence: who decides the rules when those in power choose not to? Across the United States and beyond, an unlikely coalition of technologists, civil society groups, researchers, and international bodies has begun constructing frameworks for AI governance — not because Washington invited them to, but because Washington has largely looked away. The Trump administration and Congress have not made AI regulation a priority, leaving a growing and consequential vacuum that others are rushing to fill, with unce