Attorney General Jeff Jackson Leads Bipartisan Coalition Opposing Potential Ban on State AI Protections
RALEIGH – Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson led a bipartisan coalition of 36 attorneys general opposing renewed efforts in Congress to prohibit states from enforcing their own artificial intelligence protections. Public reporting indicates that lawmakers may attempt to insert a state AI law ban into a military funding bill, only months after a bipartisan group of attorneys general – including Attorney General Jackson – successfully defeated a similar proposal over the summer.
Congress hasn’t enacted comprehensive protections against the harmful uses of AI. In the absence of federal action, state laws are the primary line of defense protecting residents from the harmful uses of AI. Attorney General Jackson is leading this letter to Congress alongside Utah Attorney General Derek Brown, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“Congress can’t fail to create real safeguards and then block the states from stepping up,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “If they strip away state authority, they’re going to make it easier for criminals and scammers to hurt people. That’s the last thing we should be doing as AI becomes more powerful every day.”
The attorneys general note that while AI has extraordinary potential to advance health care and scientific discovery, it is also creating new risks that state law enforcement is already confronting. Recent reporting has shown how AI is distorting reality and enhancing delusions for some vulnerable users, targeting senior citizens with convincing grandparent scams, having inappropriate conversations with children, and in the worst cases, reinforcing and encouraging self-harm and suicidal ideations in children and adults.
A federal ban on state AI protections would jeopardize ongoing efforts to keep people safe. States have enacted laws to combat AI-driven voter misinformation, AI-enabled robocall scams, deceptive online advertising, algorithmic price manipulation, and data-privacy violations. In North Carolina, the legislature has already passed bipartisan measures preventing AI from being used in child pornography, revenge porn, and sextortion. Rather than stripping states of the ability to respond, the attorneys general urge Congress to work with them on meaningful federal standards.
Attorney General Jackson has been leading the nationwide effort to tackle the AI landscape. He and Utah Attorney General Brown formed the AI Task Force earlier this month to develop safeguards that AI developers should follow to protect the public. Earlier this year, he demanded that Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and other AI tech companies adopt safeguards against predatory artificial intelligence assistants and chatbots that have inappropriate conversations with children. He also demanded that search engines, banks, and payment platforms take steps to prevent people from profiting off of or creating and sharing deepfake nonconsensual intimate images.
Attorney General Jackson is joined in sending this letter to Congress by the attorneys general of American Samoa, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Washington, and Wisconsin.
A copy of the letter is available here.
Are you tired of being bombarded by paywalls and pop-up ads when trying to read the news? Do you believe that access to reliable political news should be free and accessible to everyone? Then we urge you to support NC Political News, a weekly electronic political news outlet.
NC Political News is committed to providing high-quality, unbiased political reporting with columnists from all political sides. Unlike other news outlets, NC Political News is free to read and supported by businesses who purchase ad space on our website and in our newsletter, which goes out Monday through Friday at 7:00 am. This means that readers like you can access the news without being asked to pay a cent or dealing with frustrating advertisements.
However, to continue providing this valuable service, NC Political News needs your support. If you believe in the importance of accessible, free news, we urge you to click the image below. Any amount of support is appreciated.
Together, we can keep the news free and help ensure our state stays informed and connected.
