State Sen. Barry R. Finegold is calling President Donald Trump’s attempts to block states from regulating artificial intelligence misguided, arguing “guardrails” must be in place.
Finegold, Senate chairperson of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies said last week AI offers “incredible opportunities to improve lives…but with such far-reaching technology, common-sense protections are essential.”
“Unfortunately, President Trump is once again trying to block states from putting these guardrails in place. It’s no surprise that opposition to this misguided approach is bipartisan. When AI has negative impacts, state governments must step up. For example, I supported legislation that became law last year, protecting Massachusetts ticket buyers from AI bots that were driving up prices and freezing out consumers.”
Finegold noted social media as an example of unchecked technology, pointing to federal law that “shields platforms from liability with blanket protections.”
He quoted tech ethicist Tristan Harris as warning, “We didn’t regulate social media early enough, and now we’re living with the consequences. AI is moving even faster—if we don’t learn from history, we’ll repeat it.”