Texas lawmakers from both parties oppose Trump’s order targeting state AI laws

An executive order by President Donald Trump may bring Texas into conflict with the federal government over a new state law regulating the use of artificial intelligence.

Trump signed an executive order last week that threatens to cut off federal broadband funding to states that pass AI regulations the federal government deems “onerous and excessive.”

Texas, which has passed one of the most comprehensive attempts to regulate AI in the country, was appropriated up to $3.3 billion through the federal broadband program to expand broadband across the state.

A bipartisan group of legislators is working to defend the state law, set to take effect Jan. 1, arguing that an unregulated AI industry risks harming children and consumers.

“All of the Texas actors are going to say we want Texas to be a leader in AI, and I am one of those,” said state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney. “I want Texas to be a leader in AI, but you know what, I don’t want Texas to be a leader in AI generated child porn.”

Paxton, who previously worked as a school teacher, pointed to the rise of the internet during her career and the challenges that has posed for both teachers and parents. Reports on the use of the technology to generate child pornography and chat bots that have encouraged people to commit suicide motivated Paxton to speak out about the need for reasonable regulation of the technology’s use in Texas, she said.

Paxton led a group of 16 state senators — including eight other Republicans and seven Democrats — in writing a November letter to U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn urging them to support Texas’ law and advocate against any federal attempt to restrict state AI regulations.

“If an AI moratorium is put in place, our important work on preventing child pornography, protecting data privacy, preventing discrimination, and holding Big Tech accountable in Texas will be rendered moot,” the letter said. “Surely we can all agree that these kinds of state protections do not interfere with legitimate innovation and are reasonable and appropriate.”

State Sen. Carol Alvarado, a Houston Democrat and her party’s caucus chair, rejected the idea that an executive order could be used to preempt state law, arguing that only Congress has that power.

“I think we … have a better grasp of what needs to be done,” Alvarado said. “We just had the government shut down, so I just don't have a lot of confidence in Washington being able to get something done that puts in protections for our constituents.”

The state law prohibits government agencies from using AI systems to assign “social scores” and prohibits companies from designing AI tools that incite self-harm, violence, or criminal behavior. The law also restricts the use of AI to limit a person’s access to political content or infringe on freedom of expression or association.

While Cornyn has previously expressed concern about federal attempts to preempt state regulation of AI, Cruz stood next to Trump when he signed the executive order and is one of the strongest proponents of a moratorium, arguing that a patchwork of state regulations will impede AI development.

“It’s a race, and whoever wins, the values of that country will affect all of AI,” Cruz said at the Oval Office signing ceremony of Trump’s executive order. “We don't want China's values of surveillance and centralized control by the communist government governing AI. We want American values of free speech of individual liberty and respecting the individual.”

Trump’s executive order makes an exception for state laws relating to “child safety protections,” but it is unclear how that will be enforced. Paxton and other opponents of the order worry that it will create a chilling effect in legislatures around the country that attempt to regulate AI, regardless of any exceptions.

Paxton and other senators argued Texas’ law already accomplishes the task of banning misuse of the technology while also allowing for companies to innovate.

Brendan Steinhauser, CEO of the Texas-based nonprofit Alliance for Secure AI, said Texas’ law is a positive and necessary step to “pump the brakes” on AI. Steinhauser pointed to frequent deadlocks in Washington, D.C., over controversial issues and argued states are best positioned to make regulatory decisions themselves about a rapidly advancing technology.

“You can’t get Republicans and Democrats to hardly agree on anything, and we were able to do that in Texas,” Steinhauser said. “I just think people in their local communities have the right to speak on this … I think if we just go extremely fast without safeguards, guardrails, accountability, transparency, we could be in a situation where big tech just sort of runs the country and we don't have a say.”

Paxton said she shares Cruz’s and Trump’s goal of supporting innovation in AI, but called it “baffling” that Congress has so far been unable to agree to a national regulatory framework to allow that to happen safely.

“It’s something that’s important for all of us to work together on, but the reality is, it’s hard for Congress to do stuff,” Paxton said. “So in the meantime, I don't think the states should be locked down to take care of those things … I think a measured approach to things, especially when we already know they’re dangerous, makes all the sense in the world.”

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.