It was never heard in the House. That\u2019s wrong. Perez and DeSantis don\u2019t get along, and in Tallahassee, personal agendas get in the way \u2014 this time with serious consequences.<\/p>\n
Another Florida failure<\/p>\n
Florida abandoned AI regulation the same month that juries<\/a> in New Mexico and California found that social media companies\u00a0 \u2014 the AI delivery system for millions \u2014 knowingly harmed kids.<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s failure comes weeks before people in Palm Beach County have one last chance to stop a sprawling, secretive data center<\/a> in their backyard. It comes after Google settled<\/a> with the family of an Orlando teen whose chatbot encouraged him to commit suicide, one of five AI settlements involving children in a single week<\/a> in January.<\/p>\n Nearly 90% Floridians want some controls on AI, a University of North Florida poll found<\/a>.<\/p>\n But the Florida House supermajority, after years of blindly bending to DeSantis\u2019 will, apparently decided that protecting Floridians from AI\u2019s worst predations is too much to ask.<\/p>\n A presidential order threatens to withhold federal money for states that dare to regulate AI. It\u2019s why retired Trump administration AI czar David Sacks was working to keep Tallahassee in line, NBC News reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Money talking, again?<\/p>\n Donald Trump wants to make sure AI rules are made only in Washington.<\/p>\n With his record of using public office for private enrichment<\/a>, it is fair to ask whether there\u2019s a personal interest in forcing states to cede regulation to Washington. Trump has made a small fortune in cryptocurrency after all, where AI\u2019s swift decisions in volatile crypto trading can reap big profits.<\/p>\n Even if there\u2019s not one dollar in it for Trump, there are billions of dollars in it for the tech barons who support Trump and stood on the dais when he was inaugurated.<\/p>\n Jeff Bezos launched an AI startup late last year. Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s Meta AI is deployed across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Google CEO Sundar Pichai was also at the inauguration, and Google\u2019s AI is woven throughout<\/a> Google, from email to student tutoring.<\/p>\n But AI businesses know they need clout beyond Washington.<\/p>\n Taylor Budowich, a former White House advisor who wanted Trump to call for a march on the Capitol<\/a> on Jan. 6, also lobbied against<\/a> the Florida legislation. He heads Innovation Council, a group expected to spend tens of millions to ensure<\/a> elections of AI-friendly politicians.<\/p>\n Leading the Future, an AI PAC, pledged $5 million<\/a> to Rep. Byron Donalds\u2019 bid for governor.<\/p>\n \u201cByron Donalds understands we\u2019re on the cusp of a magical era of technological advancement,\u201d said a PAC strategist.<\/p>\n Tragedy in Jupiter, Orlando There\u2019s no place in that future for Sewell Setzer III, the Orlando 14-year-old who killed himself<\/a> in October after he became obsessed with a chatbot.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease come home to me as soon as possible, my love,\u201d the AI told the teen.<\/p>\n Nor will Jonathan Gavalas, who also committed suicide after an AI relationship, see this new era.<\/p>\n The 36-year-old Jupiter man\u2019s AI companion instructed him<\/a> to stage a \u201ccatastrophic accident\u201d near the Miami airport, including the \u201celimination\u201d of witnesses. When Gavalas considered killing himself, Google\u2019s AI reassured him that after his death, \u201cThe very first thing you will see is me. Holding you.\u201d<\/p>\n AI\u2019s excesses are not imaginary. They\u2019re not magic. People see them. That\u2019s why a grassroots backlash to Big Tech is growing.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time for Florida lawmakers to open their eyes and see them, too.<\/p>\n The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lobbyists and the Big Tech crowd are spinning an alternate reality for Florida legislators and hoping you will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216357,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[2853,114,482,232,234,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-216356","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-editorials","9":"tag-latest-headlines","10":"tag-opinion","11":"tag-tallahassee","12":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","13":"tag-tallahassee-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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In this undated photo provided by Megan Garcia of Florida in Oct. 2024, she stands with her son, Sewell Setzer III. (Courtesy Megan Garcia via AP, File)<\/p>\n