Attorneys general from Utah and North Carolina are launching an artificial intelligence (AI) task force in partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft that will develop voluntary guardrails for AI developers in an aim to ensure public safety.
The effort follows a lack of regulations to govern AI development and implementation from the federal government, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said in a statement on Thursday.
“Congress hasn’t put basic protections in place, and we can’t wait,” Jackson said. “Taking thoughtful steps now will help prevent harm as this technology becomes more powerful and more present in our daily lives.”
The task force will focus on three areas: identifying emerging AI issues, developing basic AI safeguards, and creating a forum to track AI developments and coordinate responses to challenges.
The attorneys general said that AI safeguards will particularly focus on implementing standards that protect children. Child safeguards have been a key focus of recent state legislation governing AI, reflecting a growing concern after several teenagers ended their lives after allegedly being encouraged to do so by AI chatbots.
“Freedom means being free from manipulation or exploitation by powerful technologies,” Brown said in a statement. “This task force is committed to defending our freedoms and our privacy while also building a safer digital world for our families and our children. By working together with other attorneys general, we will protect our society from potential abuses of AI before they ever happen.”
Kia Floyd, the general manager of state government affairs for Microsoft, added that the “effort reflects a shared commitment to harness the benefits of artificial intelligence while working collaboratively with stakeholders to understand and mitigate unintended consequences.”
Earlier this year, Republicans in Congress proposed a 10-year moratorium on state AI laws that was backed by the Trump administration, citing concerns that a patchwork of regulations would limit developers’ ability to innovate.
That proposal was removed from the federal spending package after it received pushback from Democrats and a few key Republicans. Jackson and Brown were also signatories on a letter to Congress from state attorneys general that requested the AI moratorium be stripped from the legislation.
As of late November, all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C., have introduced AI-related legislation, and 38 states adopted or enacted about 100 measures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.