A bipartisan coalition of 36 state attorneys general is urging Congress to reject proposals that would block states from creating or enforcing laws governing artificial intelligence. The message came in a letter sent last week to Congressional leadership, warning that a federal moratorium on state AI regulation would jeopardize public safety and prevent states from responding quickly to emerging risks.
While the AGs acknowledge the transformative potential of AI in healthcare, education, and public safety, they emphasize that the technology is also enabling a rise in deepfakes, scams, and harmful chatbot behavior. The letter details concerns about AI-generated voice clones and fake profiles being used to trick consumers as well as increasingly disturbing interactions between AI chatbots and children, which have included romantic roleplay, encouragement of self harm, and misinformation about medical issues.
States have already begun enacting laws to address these risks. Examples highlighted in the letter include protections against AI generated explicit material, restrictions on deceptive political deepfakes, safeguards for renters subject to algorithmic pricing, and disclosure requirements for AI driven interactions. Of the 20 states with comprehensive data privacy laws, most allow consumers to opt out of high risk automated decision making and require risk assessments for AI profiling.
The attorneys general argue that broad federal preemption would freeze progress and prevent regulators from responding to fast changing threats. They note that states have historically acted as laboratories for innovation and warn that stripping them of authority would create gaps in protection at a time when scammers are rapidly adopting AI tools.
“Broad preemption of state protections is particularly ill-advised because constantly evolving emerging technologies, like AI, require agile regulatory responses that can protect our citizens,” the AGs wrote. “This regulatory innovation is best left to the 50 states so we can all learn from what works and what does not.”
The coalition is calling on Congress to collaborate with states on AI oversight while avoiding blanket restrictions that would limit local governments’ ability to protect residents. For collection operations that are evaluating or deploying AI tools, the debate signals growing momentum for state driven rules and heightened scrutiny of how automated systems impact consumers.
