TN AG Leads 15-State Letter Urging Biden Administration to Avoid Politicizing AI Regulation

TN AG Leads 15-State Letter Urging Biden Administration to Avoid Politicizing AI Regulation

Tuesday, August 13, 2024 | 03:10pm

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, along with attorneys general from 14 other states, submitted a comment letter to the Department of the Treasury, emphasizing the need for fair and unbiased regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial services sector. The letter urges the Department to focus solely on risks to financial reliability and consumer protection rather than politicizing AI regulation or blocking state laws.

"We need to ensure that foundational AI regulation in the financial sector does not fall prey to an Administration that has repeatedly abused its financial regulatory power to illegally impose activist mandates that have nothing to do with financial services," TennesseeAttorney General Skrmetti stated in the letter. "We cannot allow ideological orthodoxy to kneecap the development of AI. As this revolutionary technology begins to take off, the ham-fisted efforts of narrow-minded activists to shackle AI to a political agenda could permanently harm American competitiveness and deprive our citizens of extraordinary prosperity."

The attorneys general highlight the potential benefits of integrating AI into financial services operations, both for businesses and consumers. They stress the importance of ensuring robust competition and fair treatment of consumers while also detecting and preventing fraud. They further urge the Department not to create or enable barriers to entry for new innovative products that benefit consumers.

Furthermore, the attorneys general remind the Treasury Department that it is not an environmental regulator or the arbiter of American culture and it should not misuse AI regulations to further social or environmental agendas. The attorneys general also emphasize that AI regulation should not be used to facilitate the debanking of disfavored groups engaged in lawful activities, such as church missionaries or cryptocurrency entrepreneurs.

The Department is urged to consider the effects of its regulation on competition and avoid preempting state oversight of financial services. The states' role as co-equal enforcers of consumer privacy, consumer protection, and antitrust laws should be maintained.

Joining Tennessee in the letter are attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

You can read the letter in its entirety here.

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