Senator Kristen Gonzalez’s Statement and Response to Trump Administration's Efforts to Institute a 10-year Moratorium on AI Regulation

ALBANY, NY – Artificial intelligence is evolving and quickly making its way into every aspect of our lives, with serious risks to safety. In response to House Republicans and the Trump Administration’s legislative provision in the House reconciliation bill aiming to prevent states from safeguarding artificial intelligence for the next 10 years, the Senate Chair of Internet and Technology slammed the move as dangerous federal overreach, which prioritizes big tech over everyday people.

This provision would not only undermine the progress New York has made to ensure that AI serves the public good. It also ignores the risks that AI poses: on youth looking for chatbot companions, as  addressed in the Senator’s chatbot bill; on voters looking to get educated on political candidates, as addressed in her bill last year, the FAIR Act; on constituents and government-employed peers at risk of displacement or bias from automated decision-making systems, as addressed in the LOADinG Act; and so many other high-risk situations being legislated on across the country. 

Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Chair of the Internet and Technology Committee said, “This is yet another example of federal overreach. We cannot allow a decade of federal inaction on AI when lives are at stake. The window is closing to regulate AI, and while the federal government continues to shirk its responsibility, New York is taking the lead in this fight.”

In response to the reconciliation bill’s passing in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Senator Gonzalez joined a letter with representatives across the country pushing back against this proposal to institute a 10-year moratorium on artificial intelligence legislation, and calling for their constituents to make their voices heard about the need for AI oversight, and the need for it now.