Comment by Elizabeth S. Watson

Recently, Big Tech has pushed an effort to convince Congress to preempt state laws that regulate AI. Unregulated AI can have disastrous consequences for workers, consumers and families. The AI industry is still nascent, and its full potential and pitfalls are not yet known. It would be profoundly short-sighted to preempt worker, consumer and environmental protections that are obviously needed now and for which future needs will undoubtedly arise as AI continues to develop. With AI bills now introduced or AI laws enacted in nearly every state, preempting state laws would also undermine the will of the people and states’ authority.