ST. PAUL, Minn. (GRAY) – This week, President Donald Trump announced plans in a post to his social media platform, Truth Social, to prevent states from regulating artificial intelligence, or AI.
In the post, the president argued that the U.S. is currently leading the AI “race,” and expressed concerns that having different regulations in different states could slow the nation’s progress.
“We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors, involved in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS,” said Trump in his post.
Proponents of AI regulation in Minnesota, like State Senator Erin Maye Quade (DFL-Apple Valley), say the ability to regulate the industry is important.
Maye Quade spearheaded state efforts to ban the use of deepfake technology for pornography and to influence elections in the 2023 legislative session.
“I wanted to do it before we actually had an example of harm in our state, because then you’re reacting to it,” she said.
The senator said she hopes to continue working on AI regulations when the legislature returns next spring, seeking to, among other things, put guardrails on children’s use of the technology and on using AI to create government documents.
She feels the executive order from Trump would be a mistake.
“I really think it’s a waste of resources and time and money and people to be suing states who are trying to protect people, instead of looking to see what’s the best package of bills that we can pass and urge Congress to pass,” she said.
Nationwide, several Republicans have also opposed a ban on regulating AI.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has recently been pushing a package of AI protections in the state and indicated Monday that he plans to continue those plans regardless of what the president said.
A similar proposal was also removed from Congress’s budget after pushback from both Congressional Republicans and Democrats earlier this year.
Maye Quade and others have, in the meantime, called for Congress to act on AI at the federal level.
“We deserve safety standards, and I wish Congress would do it,” she said.
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