To California’s leaders: Stand against Federal AI preemption

AI has encouraged young children in California to harm themselves, threatened the rights of workers, strained our energy grid and water supply, and driven a dramatic rise in AI-generated child sexual abuse material in our schools and communities. These alarming harms remind us why all levels of government must retain their ability to respond to the risks of this technology.

70% of Californians want the government to establish safeguards around AI systems that prevent the most common harms. Preempting state laws to protect corporations over people would validate the 59% of Californians who already fear that AI will only benefit the wealthiest households and corporations, and the 58% of Americans who feel that the government will not go far enough in regulating AI.

Despite that, the tech industry’s allies in Congress have pushed to insert AI preemption language into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) over the past month. As those attempts falter, proponents of preemption are looking towards an Executive Order that would place a blanket moratorium on state legislation.

That’s why we’ve joined over 30 California-based organizations—including Common Sense Media, PowerSwitch Action, SEIU California, California Federation of Labor Unions, Center for AI and Digital Policy, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty—in a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and our California legislative leaders urging them to publicly oppose any attempt to force AI preemption into federal legislation and unilaterally remove our state’s authority through Executive Order.

Stripping states like California of their right to institute common-sense AI guardrails will only hurt everyday people at a time when careful protections are sorely needed. California, as home to the nation’s leading AI companies, has a particularly vital role in sharpening smart AI policy that protects the public. Governor Newsom and Attorney General Bonta must be the voice of Californians who are demanding real regulation by publicly opposing this latest attempt to prioritize corporate interests over public safety.

Read the letter for the full details:

In November, we joined over two dozen other California-based organizations, including Common Sense Media, PowerSwitch Action, and SEIU California, in a letter to Senator Alex Padilla, Senator Adam Schiff, and California’s congressional representatives to vocalize our opposition to the federal preemption of state AI laws. We also signed onto Demand Progress’s letter opposing federal preemption laws that was sent to ranking members of Congress, not just California representatives.