DEPT. OF JUSTICE NEWS RELEASE
Attorney General Raúl Torrez, along with a bipartisan coalition of 30 attorneys general, has sent a letter to Congress opposing efforts to ban state laws that address artificial intelligence (AI). The letter was issued in response to rising concerns that certain lawmakers may attempt to insert a state AI ban into a military funding bill. The coalition argues that, because the federal government has failed to enact comprehensive protections against AI, state laws are required to fill that void.
“While Congress continues to stall on meaningful AI safeguards, states like New Mexico have been doing the real work,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “We led the push for responsible AI regulation during the last legislative session, and we are gearing up to do it again because our communities cannot wait. Any effort by Washington to prohibit state AI laws is not only shortsighted—it’s dangerous. Until the federal government enacts real, comprehensive protections, states must retain the authority to protect consumers, workers, and democratic institutions from the misuse of AI.”
In its letter, the coalition acknowledges that AI is a transformative technology that will benefit people in industries like health care, public safety and more, but the attorneys general also point out that AI is reportedly distorting reality and enhancing delusions for some vulnerable users. Examples include AI being used to target 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 ban on state AI laws could be catastrophic for public safety as various states have already enacted laws to protect their residents from the dangers of AI, including laws that prohibit AI tools that:
- Spread misinformation to voters
- Allow robocallers to spam people with calls and texts
- Deceive consumers about products on the market
- Compromise data privacy
- Use algorithms to manipulate and raise costs
- and more
Instead of a harmful prohibition on state AI laws, the coalition is asking Congressional leaders to work with them on a substantive effort to create federal protections against harmful AI.