ARI, Demand Progress, and Public Citizen announce 25,000 petitions opposing AI law moratorium
On Friday, a coalition of policy and advocacy nonprofits including Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI), Demand Progress, and Public Citizen announced a new grassroots effort mobilizing voters against legislation that would freeze state and local AI laws and regulations. The petition urges the House Democratic AI Commission, which is expected to help set the party’s platform on AI, to oppose preemption efforts. Already, the grassroots effort has gathered over 25,000 petitions opposing the preemption of state AI laws, including over 3,000 petitions from districts represented by the three AI Commission co-chairs, Reps. Josh Gottheimer, Valerie Foushee, and Ted Lieu.
“Democratic voters want their party to stand up to the tech industry, not give it a free pass,” said ARI President Brad Carson. “As the midterm elections kick off, voters are mobilizing on AI issues in support of safeguards for kids, protections for workers, and limits on data centers. Leaders in Congress who are shaping party policy on these issues need to hear directly from people, and this petition makes their voice loud and clear.”
“Americans are rightly afraid as they watch AI take their jobs, flirt with children, cause electricity bills to skyrocket and select targets for the military to bomb,” said Demand Progress AI Policy Advisor Colin McGlynn. “Our petition is a wake-up call for Democratic leaders. Congress needs to heed the concerns of the American people, not Big Tech executives who want to ban AI safeguards.”
“Americans want AI guardrails, not another era of unchecked Big Tech power. Members of Congress need to be on the right side of history before AI harms grow, before jobs disappear, and before data centers send electricity bills soaring,” said Public Citizen AI Governance and Technology Policy Counsel J.B. Branch. “Congress must pass comprehensive AI legislation that protects vulnerable communities and the American people while preserving states’ authority to regulate AI. Under no circumstances should Congress preempt states – which have led the way in responding to AI harms and are far more nimble than Congress – from regulating AI.”
Polling from Common Sense Media finds that 81 percent of voters agree that “advances in AI are exciting but also bring risks, and in such fast-moving times, we shouldn’t force states to sit on the sidelines for a full decade.” Polling from Pew Research shows that three times as many US adults are concerned that the US government won’t go far enough in regulating AI compared to those who say they worry the government will go too far.
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Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy advocacy in the public interest, focused on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). Learn more at www.ari.us.