(The Center Square) \u2013 As the conversation of AI evolving dominates headlines across the globe, Gov. Josh Shapiro delivered an address on Thursday laying out what he thinks is the best path forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not a doomer. I don’t think it is inevitable that AI is going to take over the world, or that someone will misuse it to kill us or to do harm,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cBut I do have real concerns, as do many Pennsylvanians and many Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I don’t think that the very real concerns of our neighbors that they overwhelmingly express about this technology is a hoax, as our president has called it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Shapiro delivered a roughly<\/a> 25-minute speech on Thursday afternoon at the AI Horizons 2026 Summit in Pittsburgh solely on the future of artificial intelligence.\u00a0<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s address comes just days after some of the top AI companies issued a warning about the advancements<\/a> made in AI and the threats it poses to humans losing control over the technology.<\/p>\n During his speech, Shapiro described Pennsylvania as a model for setting guardrails for the evolving industry, while directing criticism at President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress for failing to enact regulations.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI’m mindful that we are just one state, and despite our commitment to collaboration and the leadership of folks in this room and throughout the region, we can’t address this alone,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cIt’s going to require national, in fact, international leadership and collaboration.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve called on the federal government to step up and regulate the AI industry, just like they do for nearly every other industry that significantly impacts our lives,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n He isn\u2019t the only governor<\/a> to pressure the Trump administration to act.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Monday, after a prominent AI researcher, Jacob Coxon, resigned from his job at Anthropic amid warnings that technology could become deadly to mankind, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called for more federal regulatory oversight of the industry and congressional hearings.<\/p>\n And, Pritzker added, \u201cbig tech\u201d companies shouldn\u2019t be allowed to lobby against any reforms. He recently signed The Artificial Intelligence Safety Measures Act, requiring AI companies to conduct and share findings of annual third-party audits and disclose safety incidents to the state.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must protect our people from the dangers of AI while still harnessing the unique potential of the technology. And we’re doing it in Illinois with a bipartisan, first and most protective in the nation, law,\u201d Pritzker said at the signing.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Trump took to social media<\/a> to dismiss calls for government regulation of AI.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe only control or \u201cguardrails\u201d that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!\u201d Trump wrote on Monday. \u201cThe Trump Administration has stopped AI \u201cpeople\u201d from doing bad, or potentially bad, \u201cthings,\u201c like Dario (Anthropic!), who is now pretending to be a \u201cperfect little angel\u201d – and we will continue to do so!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies!,\u201d he continued. \u201cThere is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS! We are leading China, and all others, and will continue to do so. Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers, BEWARE! Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.\u201d<\/p>\n Shapiro argued on Thursday that the federal government needs to \u201cestablish strict rules of the road, and then enforce those rules to ensure a level playing field.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRules that require independent third-party oversight of frontier models, increase transparency into the development of these models, and prioritize safety above all else,\u201d Shapiro said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In September 2023, Shapiro signed an executive order<\/a> that he described as \u201cresponsible standards and a governance framework for generative AI use by commonwealth agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n During his speech on Thursday, he pointed to examples of what he believes were success stories for AI in Pennsylvania: Gecko Robotics in Pittsburgh, which is using AI embedded in robots to inspect power plants to ensure safety; The Human Engineering Research Labs at Pitt using AI to develop a wheelchair with a robotic arm; and Burro using AI to build robots that help farm workers haul more produce.<\/p>\n However, he also acknowledged that bad actors exist \u2013 which is why his office recently sued Character.AI<\/a>, alleging that its chatbots unlawfully claimed to be licensed medical providers in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a false choice to say that our only two options in America are to do what Donald Trump is saying-that we should ignore the risks and go full steam ahead -or, on the other hand, to completely stop work on AI development indefinitely,\u201d Shapiro said.\u00a0<\/p>\n