The White House halts an executive order that would have obstructed state artificial intelligence laws.

 

The term artificial intelligence

The White House halts an executive order that would have obstructed state artificial intelligence laws.

Two sources said on Friday that the White House has frozen a draft executive order that would have sought to preempt and obstruct U.S. states’ laws on artificial intelligence through lawsuits and withholding federal funding.

The draft, which Reuters reported on, was likely to face significant opposition from the states. But its consideration reflects the extent to which President Donald Trump's administration is willing to help AI companies navigate the patchwork of regulations that these companies say stifle innovation.

The White House did not comment on Friday. A White House official said on Wednesday that until the executive order is officially announced, discussion of potential executive orders remains speculative.

According to the draft, which Reuters reviewed earlier this week, the order would have tasked Attorney General Pam Bondi with creating an "AI litigation task force whose sole responsibility would be to challenge state laws relating to artificial intelligence, including on the grounds that such laws regulate interstate commerce unconstitutionally, have been preempted by existing federal regulations, or are otherwise unlawful."

The draft executive order directs the Commerce Department to review state laws and issue guidelines that would withhold funding in some cases.

The executive order would have tasked White House legislative affairs director James Bride and "AI czar" David Sachs with making recommendations on federal legislation to circumvent state-level AI laws, and would have instructed federal agencies to find ways to block them.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, called the draft executive order "unlawful" and said she would "attack states for enacting safeguards on artificial intelligence that protect consumers, children, and creators—including by threatening high-speed internet to rural communities."

Robert Weissman of Public Citizen, a non-profit consumer advocacy organization, said in a statement that artificial intelligence is already causing enormous harm, making it "almost unbelievable" that the administration would obstruct reasonable state regulation.