NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is looking to keep Artificial Intelligence regulations up to the states.

On Friday, Skrmetti joined a coalition of 36 other state attorneys general in leading a letter to oppose a federal ban on state regulation of AI products.

The letter warns that an amendment added in the Budget Reconciliation Bill by the U.S. House and Energy and Commerce Committee would impose a 10-year ban on states from enforcing "any state law or regulation addressing AI and automated decision-making systems."

According to the attorneys general, the bill will affect hundreds of existing and pending state laws that were passed and considered by both Republican and Democrat state legislatures.

Skrmetti's office said states have been at the forefront of keeping consumers protected from the dangers of AI.

"The combined efforts of the states and the federal government have been, at best, barely enough to protect consumers from Big Tech,” said Skrmetti. “AI has incredible potential but amplifies every risk we've seen from Big Tech and creates new risks we don't fully understand. Eliminating state oversight through this reconciliation amendment guarantees Americans will suffer repeated violations of their privacy, consumer protection, and antitrust laws.”

The bipartisan letter urges Congress to reject the amendment, stating that it would "leave Americans entirely unprotected from the potential harms of AI" and would wipe any state-level frameworks that are already in place.

To read the entire letter, click here.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/tn-attorney-general-co-leads-letter-opposing-amendment-that-would-limit-state-ai-regulation/