AI......ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE..... This is an issue of our democracy and the president through executive order can’t just preempt state laws without going through the democratic process," she said.Big Tech has successfully leveraged those around the president to pass a federal moratorium that aims to wipe out bipartisan AI safeguards passed in both blue and red states,” said Liana Keesing, Issue One's policy lead for technology reform. AI-driven scams and discriminatory price-fixing are just some of the harms the state laws are trying to prevent, she added. Children's advocacy groups also expressed deep concerns for the generations that are growing up in an AI-saturated world. “A generation of parents watched their kids become the collateral damage of our failure to regulate social media, and now this moratorium threatens to repeat that tragedy with AI,” said Shelby Knox, director of online safety campaigns at ParentsTogether Action.Consumer Protection: States are enacting laws (e.g., California, Colorado) to give citizens control over personal data, opt-outs for targeted ads, and protection from biased AI in areas like hiring, loans, and healthcare, say NBC Bay Area and PwC. Accountability: Without state oversight, companies face little accountability, leaving consumers vulnerable, note newyorkstateag and Brennan Center for Justice. Local Needs: States can address specific local issues like AI in ballot processing (Arizona veto) or data center impacts on power (Florida), notes Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and CNN. consumer groups push back, saying it's crucial for protecting citizens from AI bias, privacy violations, and ensuring accountability, with states like California, Colorado, and others already having specific AI/data privacy laws. The core tension is between fostering national AI innovation via uniformity and ensuring state-level consumer protection and data privacy, with the federal action aiming to preempt state laws on personal data handling in AI. Beloud