As if Silicon Valley didn\u2019t have enough power over the lives of Texans, Big Tech CEOs are coming for more. In Washington, D.C. and state capitals, the fight over\u00a0artificial intelligence\u00a0is spreading across America.<\/p>\n
Texas is not immune from a Big Tech takeover. Technology companies like Meta\u00a0and\u00a0OpenAI want a free pass at the state level, allowing them to promote advanced\u00a0artificial intelligence\u00a0without safeguards. It is called \u201cfederal preemption,\u201d a concept that allows the federal government to prevent state lawmakers from enacting legislation that affects AI development\u00a0and\u00a0deployment. The Trump administration\u00a0recently released<\/a>\u00a0its\u00a0federal framework for AI<\/a>, which includes federal preemption\u00a0\u2014\u00a0much to the delight of Big Tech CEOs who wish to avoid\u00a0any\u00a0scrutiny from the American people.<\/p>\n Like\u00a0everyday\u00a0Texans, there are state lawmakers in Austin who recognize advanced AI\u2019s societal risks. Most Americans have\u00a0deep concerns about AI.\u00a0According to a recent Reuters\/Ipsos poll,\u00a0over 70%<\/a>\u00a0of Americans\u00a0worry that AI will put too many people out of work permanently. Indeed, we are already seeing\u00a0tens of thousands of AI-linked job losses<\/a>\u00a0in the United\u00a0States,\u00a0and\u00a0the technology is only in its infancy.<\/p>\n Silicon Valley\u2019s\u00a0leaders\u00a0are not popular.\u00a0A majority\u00a0of Americans<\/a>\u00a0are critical of Big Tech CEOs like\u00a0Meta\u2019s\u00a0Mark Zuckerberg\u00a0and\u00a0OpenAI\u2019s\u00a0Sam Altman, according to a recent poll. That\u2019s saying something in a deeply divided country \u2014 and for good reason. In a landmark case, a Los Angeles jury found Meta\u00a0and\u00a0YouTube\u00a0liable for negligence<\/a>\u00a0in the design\u00a0and\u00a0operation of their platforms. While the case relates to one\u00a0young\u00a0user, social media\u00a0has\u00a0been\u00a0linked to addiction among teenagers\u00a0and\u00a0other Americans.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, Big Tech CEOs are developing the most powerful technology in human history (something that\u00a0they openly admit<\/a>). And they want us to ask zero questions?<\/p>\n Federal preemption is not democracy.\u00a0The executive branch does not have the power to overturn state laws.\u00a0We do not live in\u00a0a monarchy.\u00a0What\u2019s\u00a0more, states are naturally more responsive to their citizens than\u00a0Washington. In a federalist system, the states are laboratories of democracy, where new policies and reforms are tested for\u00a0the greater\u00a0good. States like Texas have every right to address AI development and deployment, ensuring that Silicon Valley elites serve the best interests of Texans.<\/p>\n Federal preemption would undermine protections for children,\u00a0families\u00a0and\u00a0entire communities by stripping states of their ability to respond to AI harms\u00a0\u2014\u00a0from\u00a0chatbot-related teen suicide<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0mass job loss.<\/a> Most Americans\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Democrats, Republicans and\u00a0independents\u00a0\u2014\u00a0agree<\/a>\u00a0on that fact. Again, that is saying something in a country where bipartisanship is rare. Secure, safe AI is our most unifying issue, even if Big Tech disagrees.<\/p>\n Supporting effective safeguards is not anti-AI. Nor will protecting Texas somehow lose America the \u201cAI race\u201d against China and other foreign adversaries. Two things can be true: We need AI on our side, and we need to hold Silicon Valley accountable.<\/p>\n In Texas, parents,\u00a0workers\u00a0and other concerned citizens should speak out against AI without safeguards. People should contact their elected officials, who should listen to everyday Texans instead of Big Tech CEOs. Ours might be a David versus Goliath fight, but even Silicon Valley\u2019s deep coffers\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0compete with the voice of the people.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s\u00a0hold the line. We must oppose Big Tech\u2019s power grab in the form of preemption of state AI laws.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brendan Steinhauser is CEO of\u00a0The Alliance for Secure AI<\/a>, a nonprofit organization that educates policymakers and the public about the implications of advanced AI.<\/p>\n Have thoughts about this?\u00a0Send a letter to the editor\u00a0using our letters form<\/a>\u00a0or email\u00a0letters@dallasnews.com<\/a>. Letters should be no more than 200 words and include the first and last name of the writer and city of residence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As if Silicon Valley didn\u2019t have enough power over the lives of Texans, Big Tech CEOs are coming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-260788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}