A rising tide of artificial intelligence regulations is sweeping through statehouses across the country, prompted by legitimate concerns over the disruptive technology. But a fragmented, state-by-state approach risks strangling innovation and weakening the United States in the global AI race.
This problem is most prominent in the form of an emerging, overcomplicated patchwork of chatbot-specific regulations that could ultimately backfire. But there’s a better way forward: passing a single federal rule that gives clarity to both businesses and chatbot users. The White House’s National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence released last month, now sitting on Capitol Hill, would achieve that goal. Congress should embrace the administration’s framework.
Stories abound about how AI chatbots are active participants in emotional, exploitative and even sexualized conversations. As these horror stories circulate through state capitals, legislatures are pushing state-level regulation as the answer. But states have largely failed the test of responsible policymaking. Instead, lawmakers are offering counterproductive, uncoordinated solutions that create more problems than they solve.
Adam Thierer is a Senior Fellow for Technology and Innovation at the R Street Institute. Logan Kolas is the Director of Technology Policy at the American Consumer Institute. Follow Logan on X @Logan_Kolas