The Artificial Intelligence (AI) race has only just begun, and companies, regardless of industry or size, are all working to adapt their systems and output new technologies. However, with the rapid expansion of AI, there are several risk factors that need to be addressed. In terms of regulations, several state legislatures have adopted strict AI policies that mandate companies to be transparent, prevent dangerous use cases, and restrict the collection of private and personal data of their users. At the federal level, a draft of an executive order was leaked, which stated that President Trump is considering curtailing these state-level laws.
For context, four states—Colorado, California, Utah and Texas—have passed laws to set rules on AI usage in private sectors. The main objective of these laws is primarily related to everyday adaptation of AI. For example, many employers use AI to sweep through resumes even though it is possible for AI to make mistakes, which could lead to discriminatory practices when hiring. While these states’ lawmakers have enacted heavy legislation, many states have passed some form of AI policy. Some examples include banning the use of deepfakes in elections, placing rules on the government’s own use of AI, or blocking the ability to use AI to create nonconsensual porn.
Based on the draft executive order leak, President Trump aims to crack down on heavy AI reform at the state level by withholding federal funding or challenging state laws in court. The argument against regulating AI is that having strict rules will hinder the innovation of U.S. companies and allow China to get ahead of the U.S. in the AI race. Additionally, President Trump believes some of the state legislation is producing “woke AI.” Additionally, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also shared that House Republicans are working on a proposal to halt some of the state-enacted AI reforms, however, what this proposal aims to do is yet to be seen.
When considering how major tech companies view these regulations, TechNet, a representative for large Silicon Valley firms, argues that pausing state level regulation would make way for smaller companies to join the AI boom and allow for ample time to create symmetric federal regulations. However, regulations at the federal level have faced much difficulty. As much as Republicans are trying to bar states from passing their own AI laws, members of their own party at the state level disagree. Among them is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who thinks preventing states from regulating AI would mean a “big subsidy to tech companies” and would stop states from protecting against “predatory applications that target children and online censorship of political speech.” The American people also feel that innovation should be balanced with accountability. According to Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel at ACLU’s National Political Advocacy Department, “The American people do not want AI to be discriminatory, to be unsafe, to be hallucinatory.” He adds, “So I don’t think anyone is interested in winning the AI race if it means AI that is not trustworthy.” Overall, the outcome with regard to AI regulation remains to be seen.
