As states try to rein in artificial intelligence, the president argues that letting each one regulate AI threatens to kill off the technology. Those who resist will now risk losing federal funds.
UPDATE 12/11: President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order intended to override certain state laws on AI.
The EO calls on various department heads to determine which state-level AI laws the administration deems objectionable. Attorney General Pam Bondi, for example, has 30 days to establish an AI Litigation Task Force, which will challenge « burdensome » state AI laws.
Within 90 days, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick must publish an evaluation of existing state AI laws and identify « onerous laws that conflict with [White House] policy », though he can also identify laws that the Trump administration likes. States with onerous laws may be ineligible to receive funds from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
Meanwhile, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson has 90 days to develop a policy under which a state law would be preempted based on violations of the FTC Act. And FCC Chair Brendan Carr will be required to initiate a proceeding to determine whether to adopt a federal reporting and disclosure standard for AI models that preempts conflicting state laws.
All these agencies will be consulting with David Sacks, Trump’s Special Advisor for AI and Crypto.
The executive order calls out Colorado’s AI law banning algorithmic discrimination, which the White House says « may even force AI models to produce false results in order to avoid a ‘differential treatment or impact’ on protected groups. »
The EO notes that, ideally, Congress would step in with a national AI law.
