If Congress fails to find another method to pass the measure, Trump is anticipated to issue an executive order to implement the policy. Congressional Republicans had urged Trump not to unveil a draft of that order, asking for time to seek legislation they believed could allow for an AI moratorium.
“Widespread” effort obstructed Trump’s request
Rejoicing in the removal of the measure from the NDAA, a bipartisan coalition that advocates for AI safety regulations, Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI), pointed out that Republicans faced not only internal party pressure.
“The contentious proposal had encountered opposition from a broad, bipartisan alliance of state lawmakers, parents, faith leaders, labor unions, whistleblowers, and various public advocates,” an ARI press release remarked.
This “widespread and influential” movement “responded strongly” to Republicans’ recent “hasty effort to push preemption through Congress,” stated Brad Carson, ARI’s president, because “Americans demand safeguards that defend children, workers, and families, not an unrestricted zone for Big Tech.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) termed the measure “controversial,” as reported by The Hill, indicating that a compromise currently under negotiation by the White House might retain some states’ authority to regulate certain aspects of AI since “you know, both sides are kind of dug in.”
$150 million battle over states’ authority to regulate AI
Perhaps the most evident signal that both sides “are kind of dug in” is a $150 million lobbying battle over AI that Forbes covered last month.
ARI is a leading player in this conflict, leveraging resources from “safety-centric” and “effective altruism-aligned” donor networks to back state AI laws that ARI believes can be enacted much more swiftly than federal regulations to address emerging threats.
