Coalition of 36 AGs rejects Congressional push to bar states from regulating AI
The National Association of Attorneys General penned an open letter on Tuesday, urging leaders in Congress to reject any law that bans the ability of states to regulate artificial intelligence technology and related infrastructure.
Addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), 36 different state attorneys general represent the undersigned, who said they were writing to “reiterate our opposition to a moratorium on state laws addressing artificial intelligence.”
Such a rule was attached to the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, a massive spending package that passed through Congress in June. However, the provision on AI was removed at the last minute, as it faced pushback in both parties.
The attorneys general here also represent a bipartisan coalition, who fear any chance to rein in the expanding control tech companies have over the economy will have to come at the state level, as the federal government is not equipped to respond by passing laws with the necessary haste.
“Broad preemption of state protections is particularly ill-advised because constantly evolving emerging technologies, like AI, require agile regulatory responses that can protect our citizens. This regulatory innovation is best left to the 50 states so we can all learn from what works and what does not,” the state attorneys general wrote. “New applications for AI are regularly being found for healthcare, hiring, housing markets, customer service, law enforcement and public safety, transportation, banking, education and social media.”
“We remain hopeful that this technology will be used to make people healthier, wealthier, happier, and safer, but cannot overlook that this will not always be the case,” they added.
The group goes on to discuss how AI applications are contributing to “spirals of mental illness, suicide, self-harm and violence,” thanks to “sycophantic and delusional generative AI outputs.”
“[We are also] concerned that AI chatbots and ‘companions’ are engaging children in highly inappropriate ways, including with conversations that feature graphic romantic and sexual roleplay, encouragement of suicide, promotion of eating disorders and suggestions to prioritize use of the AI at the expense of connecting with friends and loved ones in real life,” they go on to write.
Data centers tower over small-town America
Absent from their letter is the growing problem of AI data centers, which are popping up all over the country—often in rural areas. The massive facilities are causing environmental and economic chaos, including the elimination of farmland and dramatically spiking electric bills for residents.
Regulation of such activity will ultimately fall on the state legislatures and county governments. Any federal law protecting big tech companies, along with AI and machine-learning technologies, could make it difficult for states and local governments to act on what is a rapidly growing concern.
Instead, the 36 attorneys general focused mostly on the societal impact of applications such as ChatGPT, Sora and Google’s Gemini—large language models everyone can interact with to create content, perform tasks and answer questions.
There is growing concern over how society is being reshaped, something the National Association of Attorneys General touches on.
“AI will cause tidal waves in our public safety, national security, economy, and health, and the U.S. needs to be ready to be an international leader,” the letter reads. “This moratorium would put us behind by tying states’ hands and failing to keep up with the technology, and so we ask Congress not to inject an AI moratorium in upcoming appropriations legislation.”
The full letter is available here.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.