North Carolina attorney general joins call for federal AI rules

The coalition urged Congress to establish comprehensive federal regulation and safety protocols for frontier AI immediately.[2] It called for safety testing and standards overseen by experts selected by federal regulators, with consistent performance benchmarks.[2] Together, these proposals seek both an external oversight framework and internal responsibility for safety decisions. For organizations using or developing AI, the letter signals the kinds of governance questions the coalition wants federal rules to address.

The coalition proposed a uniform, transparent, government-led incident response, with investigators given direct access to books and records and findings made public.[2] The letter argues that AI labs cannot be solely responsible for regulating themselves, saying some troubling disclosures have come from sources outside the labs.[2] It also says federal oversight is needed alongside state efforts to hold frontier AI labs accountable under state laws.[2] The proposal therefore does not frame federal oversight as a replacement for state enforcement; it calls for a system that includes both.

The letter calls for safeguards so federal regulation does not undermine competition or give companies a way to evade existing antitrust obligations.[2] It also urges Congress to preserve state authority by barring federal preemption of state laws and allowing state officials to enforce federal protections.[2] North Carolina has already taken legislative action in one area: in 2024, the General Assembly passed House Bill 591, expanding criminal sexual-extortion laws to account for AI-generated images.[3] The coalition’s position is that federal rules should sit alongside state laws and enforcement, not displace them.

The attorneys general say unchecked AI could threaten Americans, the financial system, critical infrastructure and national security.[2] They also urge international cooperation to pace AI advancement and prevent the development of harmful superintelligence.[2] Jackson said AI is developing quickly and called for safeguards to prevent harm, adding that they are needed now.[1] A North Carolina task force focuses on identifying emerging AI issues, developing safeguards to protect the public and coordinating responses to AI developments.[1] UNC School of Law expert Michelle Rodenburg described the state’s AI legislative landscape as “the wild west” and called federal safeguards a necessary next step.[3]