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TechRadar
Ellen Jennings-Trace

Trump administration wants to use federal power to challenge state AI laws

An American flag flying outside the US Capitol building against a blue sky.
  • Trump administration building an 'AI Litigation Task Force' to remove AI regulations
  • The task force will look to review and overrule state implemented laws
  • Trump argues winning the AI race is vital for national security

Experts have warned AI is evolving much faster than any regulation can control, and that the flimsy safety laws we have in place are inadequate in protecting users and the wider society.

But, even those flimsy protections may be overruled in the US, as new plans from the Trump administration see a new executive order giving the federal government unbridled power over states, creating an ‘AI Litigation Task Force’ which would look to challenge state AI laws.

The draft document states the taskforce would look to remove all barriers and regulatory frameworks for American AI Leadership, emphasizing the importance for the US to lead the global technological revolution; ‘Our national security demands that we win this race.’

‘Cumbersome regulation’

One particular target of the taskforce will be California’s new AI safety laws, which the draft order calls ‘complex and burdensome’, claiming the bill is based on the ‘purely speculative suspicion that AI might “pose significant catastrophic risk”’.

The legislation also notifies states there is likely to be restrictions to funding for those that have implemented AI laws the administration deems to be onerous, or that require AI models to ‘alter their truthful outputs, or that may compel AI developers or deployers to disclose or report information in a manner that would violate the First Amendment’.

It’s important to note the timing of this order. It’s pretty widely expected that the AI bubble looks likely to burst at any minute, which in turn means many tech companies (and otherwise) who have gone ‘all-in’ on AI are now, it seems, in danger of imminent collapse - and in fact the whole world economy seems to be just circling the drain waiting for the at first domino to fall.

So, by eliminating guardrails and regulations, the Trump administration is most likely looking to soften this blow by putting users and consumers in harm's way through deregulated and unrestricted AI with less transparency or accountability there to protect the public.

Via The Verge

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