7 comments

  • pasttense01 7 minutes ago
    The best solution is to have uniform federal regulation with no state laws.

    The not as good solution is to have state regulation. Note this means companies will generally adopt policies nationally to meet the requirements of the big, restrictive states (California, etc)

    The worst solution is the House approach which will ban state regulation accompanied by the status quo of no federal regulation.

  • jfengel 59 minutes ago
    Fortunately, the administration's party believes that control belongs to the states and not in the hands of Washington bureaucrats.
    • zdragnar 31 minutes ago
      Considering that most of the rules states would introduce would run a foul of interstate commerce, it seems like a good way to get ahead of pointless lawsuits.

      Note that these rules apply to the development of AI, not any restriction on how it is used in e.g. schools, communications etc.

      • Retric 14 minutes ago
        Interstate commerce has been redefined to mean both way less and way more than the phrase might seem to imply. States can for example introduce rules on emissions when no cars are manufactured in that state.
    • yieldcrv 7 minutes ago
      amusing, but the pattern actually is clear. they don’t like laws created by courts, and when there isn’t an affirming law matching the court decision passed by Congress then it falls back to the states.

      so if Congress passes the law its fine, Congress just happens to not have a consensus forming mechanism for things the parties choose to be interested in, for decades.

      Courts striking down a law passed by the legislature, voter referendum (exclusive to some states) or agency - fine, tolerable.

      Courts creating a national law in the absence of one by the legislature - not fine, intolerable. Only fixable by the court overruling itself or constitutional amendment.

    • voidfunc 47 minutes ago
      Sarcasm right?
      • bigyabai 47 minutes ago
        It's been a joke ever since The Lost Cause was invented.
        • smallmancontrov 21 minutes ago
          Well, before they lost the Civil War they believed that "states rights" should apply to the administration of slavery but not the non-administration of slavery (the Fugitive Slave Laws). The hypocrisy runs deep.
          • shermantanktop 1 minute ago
            Such “beliefs” are cooked up by people who are mostly self-serving and insincere. We’d call them “political operatives” today I guess.

            Unfortunately other people hear the ideas, internalize them, and repeat them, without recognizing any contradictions.

    • analognoise 46 minutes ago
      Fascist parties aren’t worried about logical inconsistency, they’re only worried about the pursuit of unchecked power. They crossed that bridge some time ago.

      These aren’t the old breed of Republicans who disagreed but at least were consistent.

  • amazingamazing 25 minutes ago
    Would people have the same reaction if it were solar tech, nuclear?
    • Retric 12 minutes ago
      States do restrict those things quite heavily without much comment from the general public.

      Florida has done a lot to minimize home solar in the state for example.

  • gradientsrneat 53 minutes ago
    > Trump in December said he would withhold federal broadband funding from states whose laws to regulate AI are judged by his administration to be holding back American dominance in the technology.

    Specifically, this is funding for BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, And Deployment):

    https://www.ntia.gov/funding-programs/high-speed-internet-pr...

    Which among other things does "Deploying or upgrading internet infrastructure in unserved or underserved areas, or improving service to community anchor institutions".

    From the executive order in December, withholding of funds could include residential internet repairs and bandwidth upgrades, assuming that falls under "non-deployment":

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/12/fact-sheet-pr...

  • olivierestsage 46 minutes ago
    Sure sign that we are not dealing with a coercive situation! :)
  • panny 1 hour ago
    Amendment 10 of the US Constitution:

    >The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

    Where in the Constitution does it delegate authority over AI to the federal government? Just curious.

    • yesfitz 1 hour ago
      • ljlolel 1 hour ago
        So then wouldn’t cover open source
        • lokar 1 hour ago
          they often argue that allowing something in one state, even limited to that state, impacts commerce in other states. I think they would use a similar argument here.
          • pfdietz 1 hour ago
            Yes, AI regulation is squarely in the wheelhouse of the Commerce Clause.
    • tristanj 1 hour ago
      It's covered by the interstate commerce clause.
    • tootie 51 minutes ago
      It's perfectly reasonable to want one set of rules instead of a patchwork across very open borders. But just saying "you can't do it" is pretty lame compared to actually coming up with sensible rules first.
      • toast0 11 minutes ago
        My understanding is that courts usually require actual constitutional federal regulations to exist for Federal Supremecy to apply. But this is just cooercive regulation through barely related funding. I believe that's generally legally acceptable.
    • dosisking 1 hour ago
      [flagged]
      • sameers 29 minutes ago
        You still have the PAC part to work out.