The US Senate dealt a blow to the technology sector early on Tuesday (July 1), voting 99-1 to strip a provision from President Donald Trump’s economic package that would have prevented states from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade.<\/p>\n
The rejection signals a victory to creative industry groups that have campaigned against what they see as an attempt to shield AI companies from accountability when using creators\u2019 art and music to create AI models.<\/p>\n
The proposal emerged from concerns that a \u201cpatchwork\u201d of state and local AI laws would hinder<\/a> American AI companies competing against China. Senator Ted Cruz<\/b> of<\/b> Texas<\/b>, who chairs the Commerce Committee, proposed the measure after securing backing from tech leaders<\/a>.<\/p>\n Initially designed as a 10-year ban on state AI oversight, Cruz and other lawmakers worked to secure that the provision is included in Trump\u2019s GOP megabill. Supporters of the proposal include OpenAI\u2019s Sam Altman<\/b>, Anduril\u2019s Palmer Luckey<\/b>, and a16z\u2019s Marc Andreessen<\/b>, according to TechCrunch<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cPeople will be at risk until basic rules ensuring safety and fairness can go into effect.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Governor of Arkansas<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n However, the proposal drew opposition as further details emerged. Arkansas Governor<\/b> Sarah Huckabee Sanders<\/b>, Trump’s former press secretary, rallied Republican governors against the measure, writing<\/a> to Senate Majority Leader John Thune<\/b> and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson <\/b>last week to remove the AI regulatory moratorium.<\/p>\n Sanders wrote: \u201cPeople will be at risk until basic rules ensuring safety and fairness can go into effect.\u201d<\/p>\n Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee<\/b>, who initially supported the moratorium, ultimately partnered with Washington Democrat Maria Cantwell <\/b>to kill the provision entirely.<\/p>\n \n