Donald Trump said on Truth Social this morning that he plans to signal an govt order that can preempt any and all state laws on AI, which was apparently information to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who simply final week announced a proposal to determine an AI Invoice of Rights for Floridians and introduce protections for communities the place AI information facilities are being constructed.
DeSantis’s Invoice of Rights would set up a number of protections that mirror what different states like California have accomplished, together with requiring firms to inform a shopper when they’re interacting with a chatbot, prohibiting firms from utilizing an individual’s likeness with out consent, and proscribing firms from sharing person data with third events. The invoice additionally hits on some extra conservative-aligned considerations, as nicely, like banning any native authorities from utilizing “Chinese language-created AI instruments” like DeepSeek.
Two particular industries additionally get a call-out in DeSantis’ proposal: psychological well being providers and insurance coverage suppliers. The invoice of rights would prohibit any licensed therapist or psychological well being counselor from utilizing AI and bar AI imitations of a licensed skilled. It could additionally restrict the flexibility of insurance coverage firms to make use of AI for claims, stopping them from counting on AI as the only determiner in adjusting or denying a declare.
In a separate proposal, the Florida governor additionally launched potential protections for Floridians who might have an information heart as a neighbor. Most notably, the proposal would prohibit utilities from charging residents extra on their power payments to help hyperscale information facilities. It’d additionally limit taxpayer subsidies flowing to Huge Tech corporations organising store within the Swamp State, give native governments extra means to dam undesirable tasks, and forestall the development of information facilities on agricultural lands or nature reserves. It additionally slips in an obvious ban on the development or operation of information facilities by “overseas principals.”
All of that sounds, frankly, fairly strong! It was adequate to piss off the individuals on the outstanding conservative assume tank the American Enterprise Institute, which accused DeSantis of “drifting towards the regulatory reflexes” of blue states, and on the center-right R Avenue Institute, which accused Florida’s governor of “opening the door to let Gavin Newsom and Zohran Mamdani run America’s AI market and decimate our nation’s means to counter Chinese language advances within the rising AI Chilly Battle.”
DeSantis can even discover President Trump on the alternative facet of this battle. Trump stated he will likely be introducing “One Rulebook” for AI, which might be learn as lastly passing a federal framework or (extra doubtless) may imply he’ll lastly give the AI business what it has been asking for and try to ban states from passing AI laws. There are some similarities on this case to Trump’s dealing with of healthcare, which entails continually threatening to repeal the Inexpensive Care Act due to its shortcomings, whereas having nothing ready within the wings to switch it. Technically, banning states from having their very own guidelines does create a single rulebook, but it surely simply has no guidelines in it.
The AI battle has triggered some rifts inside the MAGA motion, most notably being one of the areas of disagreement that ultimately pushed Marjorie Taylor Greene out. And whereas it’s onerous to think about a battle over state-level laws can be sufficient to separate the celebration, there’s actually a begin of a tear within the cloth. DeSantis looks as if he could be able to preserve pulling the place it’s threadbare.
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