Oklahoma's Attorney General, Gentner Drummond, has voiced strong opposition to a congressional effort aimed at prohibiting states from regulating artificial intelligence (AI) for the next decade. Drummond is part of a bipartisan coalition comprising 40 attorneys general who have jointly signed a letter from the National Association of Attorneys General. This letter criticises an amendment within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which seeks to impose a sweeping moratorium on state-level regulation of AI until a federal framework is established. According to Drummond's spokesperson, Leslie Berger, “Congress should not preclude states from enacting laws on the subject unless Congress itself enacts its own laws.”

The coalition’s letter highlights the potential dangers of such a moratorium, arguing that it would undermine various ongoing efforts by states to mitigate known harms associated with AI technologies. For instance, states have begun enacting legislation to protect citizens from issues related to AI, which encompasses areas like data privacy, the misuse of AI in generating explicit content, and inequality in rental market practices driven by algorithmic bias. Oklahoma has been particularly proactive, proposing a series of bills to regulate AI use, including House Bill 3453, which aims to define artificial intelligence and ensure that residents are informed when engaging with AI systems.

House Bill 3453, which has cleared the Oklahoma House but has stalled in the Senate, is noteworthy. It seeks to establish what the author, Representative Jeff Boatman, describes as an "Oklahoma Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights." This legislation promises key provisions, including the right of individuals to know when they are interacting with AI, and the option to refuse the use of their data in AI models. Although it hailed from a bipartisan initiative, the progress of such bills in the Senate remains uncertain, which reflects broader challenges in the legislative landscape regarding technology regulation.

Beyond state-level initiatives, Drummond’s recent advocacy also aligns with broader concerns surrounding the influence of AI on vulnerable populations. In a separate context, he has endorsed the Child Exploitation and Artificial Intelligence Expert Commission Act of 2024, which aims to form a commission that addresses the intersection of AI and child exploitation crimes. This echoes a growing awareness of the need for responsible legislative action in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Further highlighting the urgency of this topic, Drummond joined another coalition of attorneys general to request that Congress mandates surgeon general warnings on social media platforms driven by algorithms, linking them to deteriorating mental health outcomes among youth. With rising instances of depression and anxiety correlated with social media use, Drummond has stressed the importance of informed consent for parents and young adults.

As Congress continues to deliberate on comprehensive AI regulation—which has yet to be realised—it remains vital for states to retain the authority to enact their own protections. The ongoing developments in Oklahoma reflect a broader national discourse centred on balancing innovation with safeguarding individual rights amidst the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence technology.

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Source: Noah Wire Services