Florida GOP ramps up AI crackdown under DeSantis |
Florida GOP ramps up AI crackdown under DeSantis
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.
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’ efforts on the matter.
Earlier this year, the state Senate passed the DeSantis-backed Artificial Intelligence Bill of Rights, but the legislation was killed by state House Speaker Daniel Perez (R), a vocal DeSantis critic and Trump ally.
A University of North Florida poll released in March found 86 percent of likely Florida midterm voters said they back specific regulations on AI. The same poll found that 48 percent said they supported AI, while another 48 percent said they opposed it.
The Florida Republican lobbyist also noted that DeSantis has leverage on the issue given his own popularity, which sits at 50 percent or more in most polls. Trump, on the other hand, holds a 46 percent approval rating in the state, according to an Emerson........