Big Tech Firms Ask for AI Regulation But Quietly Hedge Their Bets

As Big Tech publicly asks for AI to be regulated around the world, some of these same companies are hedging their bets by quietly lobbying individual states to head off restrictive laws.

Microsoft, Google and Amazon are among the companies meeting with U.S. state lawmakers on AI regulations, according to Bloomberg Law. They have met with legislators from Austin, Texas in the south all the way to Albany, New York in the north.

They are reportedly taking an education-focused approach, explaining the technology and how it works in the hope that lawmakers will not take a hardline approach to AI.

Other instances of potential lobbying include an Amazon-sponsored state legislative policy panel in Indiana and Microsoft’s meetings with officials in New York. Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI, reportedly met with at least 10 New York lawmakers and the office of N.Y. Governor Kathy Hochul.

“They just really wanted to brief us legislators about what their firm is doing and the approach they’re taking with a less-than-subtle context that additional legislation and regulations may not be necessary,” New York State Senator John Liu told Bloomberg Law.

Sam Altman, CEO of Microsoft-backed OpenAI, had been traveling around the world meeting with heads of state to ask for AI regulation.

Related:Silicon Valley AI Elite Back Regulation But Disagree on Details

Recently, Microsoft and other Big Tech companies signed a set of rules penned by the White House agreeing to have independent experts vet their new AI products before launch, among other stipulations. Other signers include IBM, Nvidia and Adobe. The rules are seen as a stop-gap measure until tangible federal legislation emerges. These tech giants and other AI leaders also attended the closed-door AI forum hosted by Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer.

However, state legislators typically move faster than the federal government on legislation, hence the local lobbying efforts.