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President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order designed to stop states from creating their own rules for artificial intelligence, arguing that the fast-growing industry could be weakened by a patchwork of regulations while the United States competes with China for global leadership.
Lawmakers from both parties, along with civil liberties and consumer groups, have called for stronger oversight of AI. They argue that the technology already influences major life decisions and lacks sufficient guardrails.
The president said the United States cannot afford to fall behind. “There’s only going to be one winner” in the global race for AI dominance, he told reporters in the Oval Office, noting that China’s centralized system gives companies a single path for approvals.
“We have the big investment coming, but if they had to get 50 different approvals from 50 different states, you can forget it because it’s impossible to do,” President Trump said.
Under the order, the Attorney General will form a task force to challenge state-level AI laws, and the Commerce Department will produce a list of state regulations the administration views as burdensome. The order also warns that states adopting certain AI rules could lose access to federal money from broadband and other grant programs.
Four states, Colorado, California, Utah and Texas, have enacted laws that place broad requirements on private sector AI, according to the International Association of Privacy Professionals. These rules limit the collection of personal data and require greater transparency from companies deploying AI systems.
States crafted the laws in response to concerns about how AI affects daily life. Algorithms already screen job applicants, decide access to housing, determine loan eligibility and play a role in some medical decisions. Studies have found that AI systems can produce biased outcomes, including favoring certain races or genders.
State proposals generally call for companies to disclose how AI tools function and evaluate their potential for discriminatory impacts. Many states have also passed targeted AI laws, such as bans on deepfakes in elections, penalties for nonconsensual AI-generated pornography and standards for government use of the technology.