Citing a Vacuum, Governors Plan Bipartisan Push on AI

More governors are saying that if the federal government won't move on artificial intelligence, the states will, the Independent reports. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore plans to assemble a bipartisan coalition of governors to craft shared AI rules, arguing that Congress and the White House are lagging far behind the technology's breakneck pace despite their obligation to provide leadership on the issue. "In the absence of that, the governors cannot just sit on our hands," he said, per the AP. Moore, who chairs the National Governors Association, said his Republican co-chair, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, will help build the framework, with other governors from both parties joining.

Moore criticized President Trump's AI huddle this week with tech executives, dismissing it as a "billionaire boys club" that did little to add guardrails. While Trump has played down AI risks as a "hoax" and leaned on voluntary industry pledges, governors in states including Maryland, California, Illinois, Oregon, Virginia, Utah, and Texas have already issued orders or cracked down on data center expansion. Moore, who is up for reelection and said he's not eyeing the presidency, cast the effort as a response to both the technology's speed—and what he called a vacuum of federal leadership. California Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed a similar sentiment in signing AI legislation on Wednesday.