As if the budget bill working its way through Congress wasn’t bad enough (recall that it would gut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid and other programs) it also will be a gigantic step backward in regulating generative artificial intelligence (AI). Big Tech must be regulated and AI has to have guardrails to protect jobs, ensure privacy and keep workers safe. But rather than do their job and enact such regulations, Congress is paralyzed on the issue and is actually poised to BAN states from being able to do so. A provision of the budget bill – currently in the U.S. Senate – prohibits states from passing laws regulating AI for 10 years. 10 years! This is unacceptable. States like California should be at the forefront of ensuring AI doesn’t destroy humanity, not having our hands tied for a decade by Congress at the whim of Big Tech billionaires looking to profit from a destructive technology. In addition to confronting serious privacy and mental health concerns, states must put in place safeguards to ensure that workers are not replaced by robots; bills like California Senate Bill 7, which bans employers from using AI to make employee discipline and termination decisions. Such critically needed legislation would be banned if Congress passes its AI regulation prohibition. This prohibition will set states back years, will do incalculable damage in the process, and it must be stopped from becoming law. Contact your senators at 833-770-1697 and tell them to VOTE NO on the budget bill if it includes this provision. In Solidarity, Lorena Gonzalez

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