2028 Democrats like Newsom and Pritzker lean in on AI safety as Washington stalls
Summary
California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to improve AI safety, focusing on independent checks and kill switches, as federal action on AI regulation remains limited. Other Democratic governors, like Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, are also pushing AI laws, while some states lead AI regulation due to federal inaction.Key Facts
- Governor Newsom released an executive order on AI safety amid slow federal progress.
- The order supports independent audits and kill switches for AI systems.
- Newsom’s move comes as a reaction to federal government inactivity on AI under President Trump and Congress.
- Over 600 AI-related bills exist in 47 states, with a 24% increase from last year.
- California, Illinois, and Massachusetts, all led by Democrats, are leading AI regulatory efforts.
- Illinois passed a law requiring companies to create AI safety frameworks and submit to third-party annual reports.
- Massachusetts’ Senate bill requires independent evaluations of AI models every four months.
- Frontier AI labs and companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have supported some of these state-level AI safety measures.
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