"One Big Beautiful Bill": House backs Trump plan to freeze state AI laws for a decade

[DragonSlayer101]

The big picture: The US House of Representatives narrowly approved President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," clearing the path for sweeping changes to the country's tax code and immigration policy. The bill also contains a contentious clause that blocks states from regulating artificial intelligence for the next 10 years.

The moratorium applies not only to AI models but also to any products or services integrating AI, effectively banning and overriding state regulations in those areas. The restriction affects several critical sectors, including automotive, consumer IoT, social media, medical equipment, and more.

Critics argue the clause could grant rogue developers a free pass to build AI systems that harm public safety, security, and well-being. They also contend that the bill undermines the federal system by restricting states from creating and enforcing regulations and impeding their right to self-governance.

Some experts – and even Republican senators – warn that the bill could jeopardize national security and economic stability in ways not fully understood. Senators Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Josh Hawley of Missouri argue it will make it easier to create deepfakes and derail bipartisan efforts to confront AI-related threats.

Non-profit advocacy groups, like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have raised strong objections to the bill, calling it Big Tech's effort to dismantle guardrails around artificial intelligence. The group also urged Congress to reject what it described as a damaging proposal.

Supporters of the bill argue that the moratorium is essential for US companies to compete with state-backed Chinese tech firms. They contend that regulations hinder innovation and could severely weaken America's chances of leading the world in artificial intelligence. Backers also describe the One Big Beautiful Bill as a "generational opportunity" to implement the long-term changes voters demanded.

The bill still faces Senate approval before President Trump can sign it into law. However, political commentators across the spectrum believe Trump may struggle to convince Senators that limiting state-level legislation and infringing state sovereignty is the right approach. The outcome could have lasting implications for balancing power between federal and state governments, shaping how the country regulates emerging technologies.

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"One Big Beautiful Bill": House backs Trump plan to freeze state AI laws for a decade

 

[BogdanR]

The bill also adds yet another 4 trillion dollars to the already existing and staggering 36 trillion US debt.
So far Trump alone is causing around 12 of those trillions of US debt.
I thought The GOP were debt hawks and will bring it down. Debt hawks my derrière!

 

[VitalyT]

I wish they froze Trump instead.

He can't see the threat of artificial intelligence, as he's got none of his own.

 

[NumberNine]

We were sold up the creek to be exploited by tech companies a long *** time ago. Not my favorite outcome, but certainly the easiest to enforce and no regulation means no open source regulation... so those big AI datacenters working to terraform Earth into Venus are still going to have to earn their keep against the common person with an abundance of VRAM - which both Nvidia and AMD know and have been limiting their products accordingly.

 

[Tantor]

The danger of AI is that it can be used to expose covert patterns of behavior. Not because some uber AI might take over the world.

AIs are very good at discovering patterns. Establishment Elites do NOT want you to have the ability to connect the dots.

Think about it. If Dorothy of Oz had an AI when meeting the Wizard, the AI would have told her to ignore the big fireworks and concentrate on the little man in the corner.

 

[Kashim]

The bill also adds yet another 4 trillion dollars to the already existing and staggering 36 trillion US debt.
So far Trump alone is causing around 12 of those trillions of US debt.
I thought The GOP were debt hawks and will bring it down. Debt hawks my derrière!

I don't understand why people are surprised by all this nonsense. Trump declared himself the "King of Debt" the first time he was president. When he gave the rich their first tax cut he increased the debt by a trillion dollars in his first 6 months in office alone. He saw that no matter how much debt he adds nothing changes, the dollar remains strong, the stock market loves it, etc. So why would his second term be any different? If anything, he's going to go all out and add as much debt as possible, since America is too big to fail.

 

[Tantor]

We were sold up the creek to be exploited by tech companies a long *** time ago. Not my favorite outcome, but certainly the easiest to enforce and no regulation means no open source regulation... so those big AI datacenters working to terraform Earth into Venus are still going to have to earn their keep against the common person with an abundance of VRAM - which both Nvidia and AMD know and have been limiting their products accordingly.

AI energy usage is not going to terraform Earth into Venus. One hurricane produces many times the energy of all human activity on earth.

"The energy released from a hurricane can be explained in two ways: the total amount of energy released by the condensation of water droplets (latent heat), or the amount of kinetic energy generated to maintain the strong, swirling winds of a hurricane. The vast majority of the latent heat released is used to drive the convection of a storm, but the total energy released from condensation is 200 times the world-wide electrical generating capacity, or 6.0 x 10^14 watts per day."

https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd-faq/#hurricane-energy-production

 

[OortCloud]

How are Americans letting that orange turd get away with this?

 

[lonetac]

How are Americans letting that orange turd get away with this?

Honestly, the majority of Americans are against it. There is nothing to be done though as the country is run by an oligarchy and Trump is ignoring the law/constitution.

Its not so much "letting" him get away with it as much as it is, he is just doing what he wants and most of us are powerless. He has a cult following that gets very violent.

They packed the courts with their judges and blocked judges that were nominated legally by the dems. Then the SCOTUS ruled the president was immune and now he can do whatever he wants. They are even starting to push back but its too late, they let the monster loose, there is no containing it now.

The only thing we can do is watch as the courts block every attempt he tries to do something and bend over for the lashing until this backfires on the GOP.

The majority of Americans just lost health care overnight while he put a big huge tax break for the billionaires and increased taxes on the middle/lower class. Everyone predicted this except the cult following.

I hope when a progressive wins the next election, inevitably due to the backlash of whats happening now, that they start deporting every MAGA worshiper to El Salvador as a home grown terrorist as thats exactly what they are. And without due process of course.

 

[pnntmp]

The bill does not block AI regulation - it blocks state -specific AI regulation, which is a completely different thing and makes total sense.

It's ludicrous to regulate at state level things like software that are entirely immaterial, because the 'state-ness' of such things is impossible to establish. If state X has lots or red tape and regulation that impedes progress, businesses will simply 'identify as' of state Y.

Even California, which has been at the forefront of every lunacy in the last 2 decades, didn't dare to do that and scrapped their AI bill fearing (and rightly so) an exodus of tech companies. If physical businesses are fleeing California en masse, what's the problem with software where you don't have to actually move anything?

A state -level regulation of AI will create a humongous mess that we most definitely not need if we want to win the AI race.

Critics argue the clause could grant rogue developers a free pass to build AI systems that harm public safety, security, and well-being.

I wonder what the arguments of these "experts" are. Doing stuff that can harm the public safety etc. is still illegal, and if something really needs regulation that can be done at a federal level.

That's not a comment on the "One Big Beautiful Bill" as a whole, just on the AI part of it.

 

[NumberNine]

AI energy usage is not going to terraform Earth into Venus. One hurricane produces many times the energy of all human activity on earth.

"The energy released from a hurricane can be explained in two ways: the total amount of energy released by the condensation of water droplets (latent heat), or the amount of kinetic energy generated to maintain the strong, swirling winds of a hurricane. The vast majority of the latent heat released is used to drive the convection of a storm, but the total energy released from condensation is 200 times the world-wide electrical generating capacity, or 6.0 x 10^14 watts per day."

https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd-faq/#hurricane-energy-production

Hurricanes don't burn coal and trap reflective particles in the atmosphere. We live within a system that can only exist within a range of parameters. If we exceed those paramaters, it will shrug us off. No amount of words, money, or religion can change that inconvenient, immutable, concrete reality.

 

[seeprime]

How are Americans letting that orange turd get away with this?

Democrats have no clue how to win back voters, especially moderates, with fresh new ideas. It's mostly complaining and not responding logically, at the moment. I hope they wake up and find some strong, not simply the most senior people, that are articulate and can communicate new paths and avoid focusing on controversial issues, which the public seems to be weary of, and move forward intelligently and less emotionally.

 

[RudyBob]

Who doesn't LOVE Trump? MAGA

 

[BogdanR]

I don't understand why people are surprised by all this nonsense. Trump declared himself the "King of Debt" the first time he was president. When he gave the rich their first tax cut he increased the debt by a trillion dollars in his first 6 months in office alone. He saw that no matter how much debt he adds nothing changes, the dollar remains strong, the stock market loves it, etc. So why would his second term be any different? If anything, he's going to go all out and add as much debt as possible, since America is too big to fail.

America is not too big to fail, rather it is gotten too big to not fail.
And I’m not surprised one iota this administration steals from the poor to give to the rich. And I will also not be surprised when they blame it on the Democrats and MAGA will still cheer.

 

[unoficialoficial]

Imagine if each state had its own standards for cars. In one state, they might demand that cars have a flickering label at the back with the letters "stop" lighting up when drivers press the brakes. Another state could require a rotating light in the center, while another might opt for a more minimalistic approach with just two purple lights that periodically turn red as the speed decreases.
These multi regulations can drive car manufacturers crazy. The costs and complexities of adhering to regulations should only be justified when there are many incidents over a threshold that truly disrupt social values. For example, if AI were to create a video featuring Trump and Swift, that wouldn't be enough to justify the need for regulations. Regulations should be uniform and easy to follow without disrupting those who need to comply with them.
It's also worth noting that even when a new drug is invented, it is often accepted despite potentially harmful and long-lasting side effects.

 

[Str8Shot]

The bill also adds yet another 4 trillion dollars to the already existing and staggering 36 trillion US debt.
So far Trump alone is causing around 12 of those trillions of US debt.
I thought The GOP were debt hawks and will bring it down. Debt hawks my derrière!

Most Americans, especially those freshly graduated, are illiterate and can’t compute basic math, and are oblivious to what national debt in reality is. To them, they’re just numbers, and people like it when numbers go up (like stocks).

 

[toooooot]

I think the same abilities that allow to use AI for malicious reasons will be used to counter those malicious uses. I think that the rapid job loss will be a bigger problem, bigger than anything else which is a bit sad.
It is a terrible thing for a society to have a lot of healthy people who cannot find their place in the economy.
I think it is not too early to start planning for the future and ways to make new entry level jobs.

 

[OortCloud]

Who doesn't LOVE Trump? MAGA

Ah Rudy. Back again with his inciteful arguments and showing the kind of intellect that got agent orange into power. In just 5 words he crystalizes an unsettling feeling and general sentiment floating in the zeitgeist.... We are now all f**ked and the sooner humanity is washed off the face of the planet in a nuclear fire the better.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Honestly, the majority of Americans are against it. There is nothing to be done though as the country is run by an oligarchy and Trump is ignoring the law/constitution.

Its not so much "letting" him get away with it as much as it is, he is just doing what he wants and most of us are powerless. He has a cult following that gets very violent.

They packed the courts with their judges and blocked judges that were nominated legally by the dems. Then the SCOTUS ruled the president was immune and now he can do whatever he wants. They are even starting to push back but its too late, they let the monster loose, there is no containing it now.

The only thing we can do is watch as the courts block every attempt he tries to do something and bend over for the lashing until this backfires on the GOP.

The majority of Americans just lost health care overnight while he put a big huge tax break for the billionaires and increased taxes on the middle/lower class. Everyone predicted this except the cult following.

I hope when a progressive wins the next election, inevitably due to the backlash of whats happening now, that they start deporting every MAGA worshiper to El Salvador as a home grown terrorist as thats exactly what they are. And without due process of course.

- We are literally watching the US of A fall. We just don't recognize it because it doesn't look like the way movies portray it, like some apocalyptic hellscape or civil war. It will be a slow stairstep down from global hyperpower to regional power to sad past our prime has-beens like the British are now.

I'm reminded of the line from Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire: "Rome took longer to fall than most empires exist from start to finish" and the USA will be no different.

As for AI, it will be used to shape the thoughts of the voting public. An AI generated terrorist attack here or riot there to shape and mold how we think and how we vote. AI is already at this level now.

The post truth world will be a dystopian nightmare more like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World than Orwell's 1984.

 

[RudyBob]

Ah Rudy. Back again with his inciteful arguments and showing the kind of intellect that got agent orange into power. In just 5 words he crystalizes an unsettling feeling and general sentiment floating in the zeitgeist.... We are now all f**ked and the sooner humanity is washed off the face of the planet in a nuclear fire the better.

Such a positive attitude. Good on ya Cobber

 

[BogdanR]

I wish they froze Trump instead.

He can't see the threat of artificial intelligence, as he's got none of his own.

Artificial Intelligence is no match to Natural Stupidity.

 

[sdms96825]

I wonder if this was done for Trump's BFF Musk?