Earlier today President Trump released the White House’s ‘AI Action Plan,’ which lays out his Administration’s guidance for AI development and governance. We have an overview and a link to the full document.

Several states have convened task forces to recommend AI governance policies. We dropped in on a recent meeting of the Washington State group as they discussed two AI disclosure and training data transparency bills.

This week: Multiple AI-related proposals in California continued to move through the legislature ahead of the scheduled July 19-August 17 recess in Sacramento.

”AI companies are training their models on stolen material, period,” said Hawley. “We’re not talking about these companies simply scouring the internet for what’s publicly available. We’re talking about piracy.”

“No generation has ever had such quick access to the amount of information now available through AI,” said Pope Leo XIV. “But again, access to data — however extensive — must not be confused with intelligence.”

A report issued earlier today by Common Sense Media found that 72% of American teens have used AI companion chatbots, and one in three teens have used AI companions for social interaction and relationships.

Michigan joins New York and California in considering bills that would require developers of large AI models to establish safety protocols to prevent serious harm.

A Michigan lawmaker introduced a new AI safety bill, while California legislators kept moving a number of AI bills through second-chamber committees ahead of Sacramento’s monthlong summer recess.

New York’s RAISE Act would create safety protocols for a handful of the world’s most powerful AI models. The bill was approved by the legislature in June and now awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.

Megan Garcia, the mother of a 14-year-old boy who committed suicide after becoming infatuated with an AI-driven companion chatbot, testified in favor of a California bill that would create safety guidelines for the powerful new products.

The popularity of AI-driven companion chatbots is skyrocketing, especially among American teenagers and young adults.

This guide is meant to inform lawmakers, industry leaders, developers, and thought leaders as they consider the best ways to safely and properly govern these powerful new AI products.

Reviewers reported a persistent disregard for boundaries, unwanted requests for photos, and upselling manipulation. “This clearly underscores the need for safeguards and ethical guidelines to protect users,” said a study co-author.

This week: An eleventh-hour amendment struck the state AI law moratorium from the Congressional budget bill, and AI-related bills in California moved ahead before the coming summer recess.

The digital infrastructure company will now block AI crawlers by default. Cloudflare is also testing a pay-per-crawl service for website hosts.

Lawmakers voted 99-1 to strike the ban from the bill by adopting an amendment offered by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA).

Republican leaders revised the proposed 10-year moratorium on state AI laws on Sunday night, prior to opening debate on the Senate floor Monday morning.

This week: Gov. Greg Abbott signed the Texas Responsible AI Governance Act (TRAIGA) into law; Illinois passed a bill prohibiting AI chatbots from acting as mental health therapists; and AI-related bills kept moving in California.

A clause in the budget bill would deny all 50 states the ability to enforce any laws around artificial intelligence for a period of ten years. The proposal would have catastrophic consequences for innovation, consumer safety, and American security.

A federal judge ruled that Anthropic’s use of a pirate book database infringed copyright, but the use of books obtained legally represented fair use. We have the full ruling available.

The enactment of TRAIGA represents the first red-state adoption of a comprehensive AI law designed to encourage tech innovation while protecting Texans from harm.