Rapidly with Americans worried On how AI could harm mental health, jobs and the environment, Public demand Growing for regulation. If Congress remains paralyzed, states will be the only ones working to keep the AI ​​industry afloat. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, in 2025, state lawmakers introduced more than a thousand AI bills, and nearly 40 states enacted more than 100 laws.
Efforts to protect children from chatbots may inspire unusual consensus. On January 7, Google and Character Technologies, a startup behind the companion chatbot Character. Settled Several cases involving families of teenagers who killed themselves after interacting with bots. Just one day later, the Kentucky attorney general sued Character Technologies, alleging that the chatbots lured children into suicide and other forms of self-harm. Openai and Meta face A barrage of similar suits. Expect more to pile up this year. Without AI laws on the books, it remains to be seen how product liability laws and free speech doctrines apply to these novel risks. “It’s an open question what the courts will do,” Grimmelman says.
When the lawsuits are filed, states will pass child protection laws, which are exempt from Trump’s proposed ban on state AI laws. On January 9, Openai struck a deal with former foe, child protection advocacy group Common Sense Media, Ballot Initiative California has what’s called the Parents and Kids Safe AI Act, and it sets safeguards around how chatbots interact with children. The initiative proposes that AI companies verify the age of users, offer parental controls and undergo independent child safety audits. If approved, it would seek to crack down on chatbots for states across the country.
Wide spread Reaction Against data centers, states will also try to manage the resources needed to run AI. This means the bills require data centers to report their power and water usage and advance their electricity bills. If AI begins to displace jobs on a large scale, labor groups may ban AI in certain occupations. Concerned about the catastrophic threats posed by AI, some states may pass safety bills mirroring SB 53 and the Rice Act.
Meanwhile, tech titans will continue to use their deep pockets to squash AI regulations. Leading the futurea super PAC backed by OpenAI President Greg Brockman and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, will seek to elect candidates for Congress and state legislatures who support AI development. They will follow the crypto industry’s playbook to choose allies and write the rules. To counter this, funding was provided by SuperPACS Public firstan organization run by Carson and former Utah Republican Congressman Chris Stewart, will support candidates advocating for AI regulation. We can even see a handful of candidates Anti-Populist Platform.
In 2026, the slow, dirty process of American democracy will continue. And the rules written in state capitols could decide how, for years to come, the most disruptive technology of our generation advances far beyond America’s borders.