Florida GOP ramps up AI crackdown as DeSantis exits

Florida GOP ramps up AI crackdown as DeSantis exits

Top Florida Republican leaders and candidates are doubling down on their push to regulate artificial intelligence as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a fierce critic of the technology, prepares to leave office.

© Chris O’Meara, Associated Press

Sunshine State Republicans are promising to ramp up rules on AI — including on chatbots — even as the Trump administration pushes back against strict regulations on the new technology.

Rep. Byron Donalds (Fla.), the GOP gubernatorial frontrunner, told reporters he disagrees with President Trump on AI federal preemption, which would prohibit states from instituting most regulations on AI.

On Monday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman over ChatGPT’s alleged harm. 

Their skepticism about the technology aligns with DeSantis, who broke with Trump last year on AI preemption, arguing states have a right to regulate the technology alongside the federal level.

The former 2024 presidential candidate has since emerged as one of the most vocal proponents on AI safety from a reliably red state. 

And after Trump signed an executive order late last year to start the process of establishing a national AI standard that would preempt most state laws, DeSantis argued the order does not block Florida or other states from issuing their own AI regulations. 

One Florida Republican lobbyist said the temperature on the issue is “heating up” because of DeSantis’s efforts to combat AI and data centers in the state. 

“He’s kind of scared people around that,” the lobbyist said, noting DeSantis’s efforts on the matter. 

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