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Trump favors blocking state AI laws

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State AGs says industry needs guardrails

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Congress could add AI to upcoming legislation

By Jody Godoy

Nov 25 (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic attorneys

general from 35 states and the District of Columbia urged

congressional leaders on Tuesday not to block state laws

governing artificial intelligence, warning of "disastrous

consequences" if the technology is left unregulated.

The letter sets up a clash between the states and the Trump

administration over AI regulation, as the industry seeks to

avoid new laws scheduled to take effect in 2026 and states worry

about injuries and deaths attributed to chatbot use.

"Every state should be able to enact and enforce its own AI

regulations to protect its residents," said New York Attorney

General Letitia James, who led the effort with attorneys general

in North Carolina, Utah and New Hampshire.

TECH COMPANIES PRESS FOR NATIONAL STANDARDS

ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Alphabet's Google, Meta

Platforms ( META ), and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz

have called for national AI standards instead of a 50-state

patchwork.

But since Congress has not put national standards in place,

rushing to block state laws "risks disastrous consequences for

our communities," the attorneys general said.

"If Congress is serious about grappling with how AI's

emergence creates opportunities and challenges for our safety

and well-being, then the states look forward to working with you

on a substantive effort," they said.

Some states have made it a crime to use AI to generate

sexual images of people without their consent, limited the use

of AI in political advertising, and restricted how insurers use

AI to decide healthcare claims. A Colorado law that has faced

industry pushback seeks to prevent AI from being used to

discriminate in housing, employment and education.

California, home to several major AI companies, has gone the

farthest. Starting in 2026, the state will require companies to

disclose information about data used to train AI models and

provide means to detect AI-generated content. Major developers

like OpenAI will also have to explain plans to mitigate

potential catastrophic risks from cutting-edge models.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta signed the letter.

The Senate voted 99-1 against an effort to block AI laws this

year after state lawmakers and attorneys general from both major

political parties rallied against the measure.

This time, President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind

the effort, asking Congress last week to add a provision

blocking AI laws to the National Defense Authorization Act.

Trump has also considered using federal power to sue and defund

states to block the laws, though sources told Reuters on Friday

the effort was on hold.