Miami
Byron Donalds questions federal AI legislation and says states should take the lead
The Florida Congressman said Washington is unlikely to agree on meaningful artificial intelligence rules. He argued that states should move first with their own regulatory frameworks.
Byron Donalds, a Florida gubernatorial candidate, cast doubt on whether the U.S. Congress can agree on meaningful legislation to regulate artificial intelligence, Florida Politics reported.
In televised remarks cited by the outlet, the Naples Congressman said the difficulty of passing major policy in Washington, especially in the Senate, makes a federal framework unlikely.
His comments came as some members of Congress called for delaying recess to continue work on the issue. According to Florida Politics, the lawmakers behind that letter argued that the United States can lead the world in artificial intelligence while also adopting reasonable safeguards to protect Americans and national security.
The proposals mentioned include the AI Kill Switch Act, sponsored by Reps. Ted Lieu and Nathaniel Moran, which would create a human safeguard against AI systems, and the FRONTIER Act, backed by Reps. Jay Obernolte and Lori Trahan, aimed at regulating how new models are developed and deployed.
Donalds criticized the idea of rushed regulation from Washington and pointed to earlier federal laws that, in his view, were meant to reform policy but produced unintended consequences, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Instead, he argued that deliberation and policymaking should begin at the state level. Florida Politics also reported that Donalds said that, if elected, he would pursue an AI bill of rights in Florida and work with the Legislature on protections for children, parental awareness of chatbot activity, safeguards for name, image and likeness, and a broader regulatory structure for AI.
The outlet added that Donalds has received significant financial support from interests tied to data centers and that, although he has said those donations do not shape his views, his positions have drawn scrutiny as his rhetoric has shifted in recent months.
Florida Politics said Donalds has previously argued that data stored in Florida is safer than data stored in other states or foreign countries, and has promoted small modular nuclear reactors and closed-loop water filtration systems for data center projects.
He now says local control should govern data centers, the report said. That marks a change from earlier comments in which he rejected the idea of bans on such facilities. He has also described data centers as important to Florida’s role in the commercial space race and as beneficial to national security.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
