President Donald Trump plans to issue an executive order this week that’ll create a single set of rules for AI, forgoing the need for companies to litigate across states, the president posted on Truth Social on Monday.
The post didn’t detail how the executive order would regulate AI, but the president argued that too onerous regulation would hinder the industry’s growth, given increased international competition.
The White House declined to comment.
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“On the heels of Congress correctly deciding for the second time not to pass legislation that would ban states from regulating artificial intelligence, the President should recognize that this is a misguided, unpopular, and dangerous policy choice,” Travis Hall, director for state engagement at the Center for Democracy & Technology, told CNET in a statement.
Hall said the states need to be allowed to safeguard their citizens.
“The power to preempt rests firmly with Congress, and no executive order can change that,” he said. “State lawmakers have an important role to play in protecting their constituents from AI systems that are untrustworthy or unaccountable. They should remain steadfast in responding to the real and documented harms of these systems.”
The report of a new executive order comes as states have been attempting to regulate AI, particularly as the technology infiltrates all aspects of technology and society, with Congress and the Executive Branch seeking to push back.
Some states have passed laws making it a crime to create sexual images of people without their consent. Others have placed restrictions on insurance companies using AI to approve or deny health care claims. Currently, Congress hasn’t passed any legislation regulating AI on a national scale.
Last month, 35 states and the District of Columbia urged Congress not to block state laws regarding AI regulation, warning of “disastrous consequences.” Congress ultimately chose not to interfere earlier this month. Companies, including Google, Meta, OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz have been calling for national AI standards rather than litigating across all 50 states.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
