TechCrunch: Congress might block state AI laws for five years

Senators Ted Cruz and Marsha Blackburn include a measure to limit (most) state oversight of AI laws for the next five years as part of the “Big Beautiful Bill” currently in the works. Critics (and the Senate Parliamentarian) have reduced the scope and duration of the provision to modify the measure.

However, over the weekend, Cruz and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who has also criticized the bill, agreed to shorten the pause on state-based AI regulation to five years. The new language also attempts to exempt laws addressing child sexual abuse materials, children’s online safety, and an individual’s rights to their name, likeness, voice, and image. However, the amendment says the laws must not place an “undue or disproportionate burden” on AI systems — legal experts are unsure how this would impact state AI laws.

The regulation is supported by some in the tech industry, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, whereas Anthropic’s leadership is opposed.

I’m sympathetic to the aims of this bill as a patchwork of 50 state laws regulating AI would make it more difficult to innovate in this space. But I’m also aware of real-life harm (as a recent NY Times story profiled), so I’d be much more sanguine if we had federal-level regulation, a prospect that seems very unlikely considering the current political makeup.