Actually, State AI Legislation Is Good
We can’t let the AI overlords intimidate us out of setting the rules for the road
by Rob Flaherty
Artificial intelligence isn’t just coming. It’s here. And that’s a good thing – as long as we make the right choices.
AI could transform all of our lives for the better. But that will only be possible if we democratically set the terms for how it can be used and get serious about policies that truly meet the moment. Right now, that’s not what’s happening.
If you are a person who pays attention to AI news, you’re no doubt watching the AI industry’s attempts, as Politico put it, to “scare legislators into submission” around AI regulations.
The theory goes that the threat of a mountain of money can prevent state policymakers from making moves against Silicon Valley’s attempts to deliver unfettered Artificial General Intelligence, systems that can learn, understand and behave like people do. We’ve seen that happen before. But the politics and policy are not in Silicon Valley’s favor this time. When it comes to AI, the tech giants are pushing up an increasingly steep hill. We’re talking about something that even some of its founders acknowledge could have calamitous negative consequences, profoundly affecting people’s lives for generations to come. In this particular effort at deep pocketed political persuasion, the AI overlords have a hard task. So I write today with a simple message for state policymakers: ignore ‘em.
First, the politics. The tech bros are wrong. People believe in the potential of AI, but they want guardrails.
Polling consistently shows that the vast majority of Americans are concerned about the increasing use of AI. And they worry that the government is not stepping up. Echelon Insights, a Republican polling firm, found in February that 59% of the country are concerned about policymakers not going far enough in regulating AI to prevent harm, compared to 24% who are worried about “stifling innovation.”
Even the increased skepticism about data centers – another topic all over the news – is caught up in popular attitudes about AI. That same Echelon poll found that 41% would be less likely to support a data center if it was for training AI models, compared to only 25% being less likely if it was for “searches and video streaming.” Translation: it’s not the data centers, it’s the AI. The political constituency for unchecked accelerationism might just be concentrated in 10 square miles around San Francisco Bay.
The fight against data centers pales in comparison to what’s coming in the workplace. I wrote about this recently in the New York Times. Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, predicts that half of entry level white collar jobs will be eliminated within five years. The CEO of Ford says they estimate it will be half of all white collar jobs. In my own life, I run a strategic communications and digital firm, and I’ve hired significantly fewer staff because I use AI-driven workflows. Imagine what that looks like for a Fortune 500 company. Americans are feeling this looming job-pocalypse around them, even if they can’t quite name it. Talk to a college senior trying to get a foot in the door right now. They know what’s coming.
So what do we do about it? I believe there are three principles that should guide us:
Moratoria on AI are profoundly ill-advised. Whatever we do, the technology is coming, and it could be genuinely and positively transformative. Right now AI is set to be used by a handful of billionaires to further entrench their wealth – either because they run a frontier lab or they run a company that will benefit from “efficiency.” But it doesn’t have to be that way. We should utilize this technology to ensure that it benefits all of us in myriad ways. Everyone talks about cures for cancer, but imagine something even bigger than that: a world where huge productivity gains enable everyone to lead better, more fulfilling lives. That’s only going to happen if we institute rules of the road. In fact, AI may be the catalyst for a fundamental restructuring of the basic social bargain – for the kinds of policies that will make life better for millions.
States should take the lead. We of course could use a federal solution – one set of rules that everyone can play by. But have you looked at Washington lately? Do you think that’s happening anytime soon? States will need to create pressure for the federal government to act. The AI nihilists in the Valley know this, which is why they made pre-emption their number one priority and are trying to stop state policymakers from taking any action. What little federal regulation there is on social media only came about because of a series of judicial opinions that forced Congress to step in. Pressure works.
We must think big. We need policies that keep our kids safe, keep our jobs safe, keep our civic body safe, keep our country safe, and keep our economy safe. If AI is going to eliminate jobs while making the economy more productive, policymakers should respond with ideas that match the scale of the challenge. We should be considering policies that redistribute wealth (like an AI dividend), that backstop workers (like a jobs guarantee), and that make it so humans can survive in a world where jobs are increasingly done by robots (like benefit portability and a strong safety net).
This is a moment for profound creativity, and a reimagining of the basic bargain among government, the private sector, and workers. It’s not just because taking this on is popular (although it is). It’s because it’s critical to making our society function. We face a choice. Right now, it’s too easy to see an AI-dominated future characterized by human isolation, alienation, and stratification, the inevitable consequence of a productivity boom blended with large-scale job loss. But it is within our power to change that outcome. And if you happen to work in state government, it’s specifically within yours.
So I write to say: be not afraid of Silicon Valley and their billions. There has never been a bigger opportunity for transformative policies. The people are with us, and the moment demands it. The question is what we’ll do about it. The answer starts in the states.
Rob Flaherty is a political strategist, and the founder of Narrowcast Media. He served as head of Digital on the 2020 Biden campaign and in the Biden White House and as Deputy Campaign Manager on the 2024 campaign. He is the co-host of Nobody Knows Anything, a podcast for people who “love politics and hate themselves.”