[HN Gopher] Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial ...
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       Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence
        
       https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/11/trump-signs-executive-order-...
       https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-signs-executive...
        
       Author : andsoitis
       Score  : 22 points
       Date   : 2025-12-11 23:56 UTC (23 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.whitehouse.gov)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.whitehouse.gov)
        
       | andsoitis wrote:
       | _White House AI czar and Silicon Valley venture capitalist David
       | Sacks elaborated on the rationale for the executive order in a
       | post on X.
       | 
       | Sacks argued that this domain of "interstate commerce" was "the
       | type of economic activity that the Framers of the Constitution
       | intended to reserve for the federal government to regulate."
       | 
       | At the Oval Office signing ceremony, Sacks said, "We have 50
       | states running in 50 different directions. It just doesn't make
       | sense."_
        
         | mcdan wrote:
         | So much for "states rights" and the "laboratories of
         | democracy."
        
           | AndrewKemendo wrote:
           | We had a pretty decisive event eliminating precicely that
           | experiment
        
             | TimorousBestie wrote:
             | Could you be more specific?
        
               | AndrewKemendo wrote:
               | https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/14th-
               | amendment
        
               | schmidtleonard wrote:
               | He probably means the civil war.
               | 
               | I'd like to point out that the South was only a fan of
               | States Rights exactly insofar as they let them do
               | slavery. The millisecond it came to forcing Northern
               | states to return escaped slaves, they suddenly weren't
               | the same principled supporters of devolving and
               | federating power. Funny how that works.
        
         | jandrewrogers wrote:
         | Wickard v Filburn rearing its ugly ahead again.
         | 
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn
        
         | CPLX wrote:
         | > Sacks argued that this domain of "interstate commerce" was
         | "the type of economic activity that the Framers of the
         | Constitution intended to reserve for the federal government to
         | regulate."
         | 
         | They did indeed. It's explicitly delegated to congress which
         | declined to pass a law like this.
         | 
         | The EO is just obviously null and void in the face of any
         | relevant state law.
        
       | cebert wrote:
       | I wish this article would include what the details of the
       | framework are. It's unhelpful in its current form.
        
         | dang wrote:
         | We've since changed the URL to link to the order itself, and
         | put links to other articles in the toptext.
        
       | techblueberry wrote:
       | A win for states rights!
        
       | treetalker wrote:
       | Federal Preemption: A Legal Primer --
       | https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45825
        
       | treetalker wrote:
       | Federal Preemption: A Legal Primer --
       | https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45825
        
       | throw0101a wrote:
       | Executive order (EO) count over the last few presidents:
       | 
       | * Bush (41): 166
       | 
       | * Clinton (two terms): 364
       | 
       | * Bush (43; two terms): 291
       | 
       | * Obama (two terms): 276
       | 
       | * Trump (45): 220
       | 
       | * Biden: 162
       | 
       | * Trump (47; <1 year): 218
       | 
       | Source:
       | 
       | * https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/executive-or...
       | 
       | Someone commented that (one of?) the reason that Trump is using
       | EOs so much is probably because is not willing (or able) to
       | actually get deals on in the legislature to pass his policies (or
       | what passes for policy with him).
        
         | conception wrote:
         | Or why bother when no one will stop you from ruling by fiat?
        
           | nh23423fefe wrote:
           | Yes, why would you bother not exercising power you possess?
        
             | scythmic_waves wrote:
             | Yep. I punch literally everyone I meet in the face.
             | 
             | I have the power to do it. Why would I not?
        
               | janalsncm wrote:
               | Is assaulting people going further your goals?
               | 
               | Presumably EOs further the President's goals.
        
         | LPisGood wrote:
         | I once heard it said that Trump governs like a dictator because
         | he is too weak to govern like a president. He is extremely
         | unpopular and his party holds one of the smallest house
         | majorities ever.
        
       | ChrisArchitect wrote:
       | meanwhile the url is a different, more direct kind of statement:
       | 
       |  _eliminating-state-law-obstruction-of-national-artificial-
       | intelligence-policy_
        
       | ChrisArchitect wrote:
       | Some more discussion:
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46239009
        
         | dang wrote:
         | We'll merge that thread hither.
        
       | xeonmc wrote:
       | In a parallel universe, the government in the 20th century signed
       | bills protecting tobacco giants from State regulation to
       | encourage investments furthering the country's international
       | competitiveness in the tobacco industry.
        
         | sigwinch wrote:
         | That does kind of draw a contrast between Jesse Helms, the
         | ultimate tobacco Senator, and Trump. They're almost opposites.
        
       | chrisjj wrote:
       | True current title: Trump signs executive order aimed at
       | preventing states from regulating AI
        
       | chrisjj wrote:
       | > Earlier this week, he reiterated that sentiment in a post on
       | Truth Social, saying: "We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point
       | in the race, but that won't last long if we are going to have 50
       | States, many of them bad actors
       | 
       | Has Trump IDed the alleged bad actor states?
        
         | sigwinch wrote:
         | It's hard to tell if what he says is even relate to what he
         | will do. A hardline on semiconductors to China faded this week
         | when he needed some economic stimulation.
         | 
         | So when states without AI data centers seek to ameliorate tax
         | and zoning obstacles, it won't be Federal preemption in their
         | way, but what benefits Trump.
        
         | munchler wrote:
         | It's the blue ones, of course.
        
       | k310 wrote:
       | > Republicans earlier this year failed to pass a similar 10-year
       | moratorium on state laws that regulate AI as part of Trump's One
       | Big Beautiful Bill Act, with the Senate voting 99-1 to remove
       | that ban from the legislation. Trump's order resurrects that
       | effort, which failed after bipartisan pushback and Republican
       | infighting, but as an order that lacks the force of law. [0]
       | 
       | > Trump has framed the need for comprehensive AI regulation as
       | both a necessity for the technology's development and as a means
       | of preventing leftist ideology from infiltrating generative AI -
       | a common conservative grievance among tech leaders such as Elon
       | Musk.
       | 
       | On the other hand ..... Grok and others ...
       | 
       | From the party of "states rights" and "small government"
       | 
       | [0] https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-
       | topics/d...
        
       | henning wrote:
       | Anyone defending policies like this should be honest about the
       | fact that they just want policies that will make the most money
       | for the VCs and companies who are in a too-big-to-fail circular
       | financing Ponzi scheme and they don't give a shit about negative
       | externalities of AI or the harmful precedent this sets for how
       | the federal government interacts with states. If you want to simp
       | for a Russian asset and become a useful idiot for Vladimir Putin
       | by extension, be honest about what you are.
        
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       (page generated 2025-12-12 23:00 UTC)