As President Donald Trump pushes for less regulation of artificial intelligence, some Republicans are worried about what that could mean for the midterms and beyond.<\/p>\n
Trump signed an executive order last week aimed at curbing state-level AI regulation, arguing that states would go too far at a time when the AI industry must be supported for the United States to stay competitive in the sector. There\u2019s been fallout among Republicans: Some think it\u2019s a losing issue, while others think states\u2019 hands shouldn\u2019t be tied.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the Democrats are going to score some wins off of AI backlash. And I think more Republicans are going to try to find their voice on the issue,\u201d Brad Littlejohn, a policy adviser at American Compass, a right-wing think tank, told NOTUS.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s executive order<\/a> calls on Congress to \u201censure that there is a minimally burdensome national standard.\u201d Congress is still expected to act, but that could result in fraught negotiations.<\/p>\n A December memo addressed to Republican congressional leaders by GOP strategist Chapin Fay, which was obtained by NOTUS, warned that banning AI regulation might be a risky move ahead of the midterms.<\/p>\n \u201cRepublicans cannot afford unforced errors such as alienating voters on AI policy or tying ourselves to a historically unpopular tech industry,\u201d the memo reads. \u201cFederal preemption of the states on [AI] regulation is a politically fraught issue, and GOP policymakers should hold their powder.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRepublican lawmakers and candidates should signal to voters in this case, particularly young voters, that we share their values and do not side with Big Tech,\u201d Fay, who did not respond to a request for comment, wrote.<\/p>\n Rep. Mike Kennedy, a Utah Republican, told NOTUS he doesn\u2019t know how \u201cdisturbed the average public is\u201d with this issue, but he thinks that states could actually teach the federal government about how to regulate AI.<\/p>\n \u201cI see the potency of states in their ability to regulate the more nuanced fashion,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cAnd yes, they can make mistakes, but they could also show the federal government good policy that actually empowers AI but also regulates in a healthy fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n Data has found that Trump voters may be opposed to such a tech-friendly agenda. Polling of people who voted in last year\u2019s presidential election by the right-leaning Institute for Family Studies and YouGov found that more than 40% of Trump voters oppose blocking states from regulating AI<\/a>.<\/p>\n Michael Toscano, a senior fellow at the institute, told NOTUS on Thursday that multiple<\/a> polls<\/a> this year on Congress blocking states from regulating AI paint a clear picture: \u201cTrump voters, by a wide margin, are opposed to it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not gonna look good to have the president handcuffing states from regulating these Big Tech companies out of San Francisco or the Bay Area,\u201d Toscano said. \u201cThe tensions that this maneuver is kicking up are extremely intense. And I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be good for the Republican Party.\u201d<\/p>\n Polling from the Pew Research Center from this summer also found that Republican voters are as concerned about the daily use of AI as Democratic<\/a> voters are, and some Republican state legislators say they feel the need to respond.<\/p>\n Florida is an example. The state Legislature has passed laws requiring disclaimers on political ads<\/a> that use AI and creating penalties for AI child pornography<\/a>. It is also considering moving forward with an \u201cAI bill of rights\u201d<\/a> that would create additional protections for residents of the state.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is growing pressure on state legislatures to step in,\u201d state Rep. Dana Trabulsy, a Republican, told NOTUS in a text. \u201cThe reality is that innovation doesn\u2019t pause, and neither do the risks. States are closest to the ground, closest to the schools, the businesses, the public sector systems that are already grappling with AI every single day. So the responsibility naturally shifts to us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe pressure is real. Not because states want to compete with Washington, but because doing nothing shouldn\u2019t be an option,\u201d Trabulsy added.<\/p>\n Rep. Byron Donalds, a congressional Republican from Florida, told NOTUS he did not think voters would cast ballots against Republicans over the issue of state-level AI regulation but said he would like to see more action from states.<\/p>\n \u201cI am not supportive of a blanket moratorium from the federal level in the U.S. I think there are privacy and safety concerns that should be addressed, and I think that states are uniquely positioned to do that,\u201d Donalds said.<\/p>\n Other House Republicans also told NOTUS they don\u2019t agree with the idea that Trump\u2019s executive order will translate into losses for their party next year. But they say they welcome the input of states at a time when Congress has failed to establish any guardrails for the AI industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really care about the politics.\u201d Rep. Clay Higgins told NOTUS. \u201cI think the sovereign states are an appropriate sort of petri dish for what AI might be. They are a good place for that mix to see, which may develop in the space where AI intersects our life.\u201d <\/p>\n There\u2019s also more appetite among Republicans for limiting the influence of Big Tech.<\/p>\n \u201cWe pay too much deference to the tech world and social media firms on letting them run rampant,\u201d Rep. Blake Moore, a Utah Republican, told NOTUS. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing social movements out there from parents who don\u2019t want their kids having phones at that school and stuff like that. Why? That\u2019s because they\u2019re damaging to their overall development.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to be making sure we\u2019re doing the right thing for the next generation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n