By John Q. Hosedrinker 
The Senate voted to remove a provision that would have prevented US states from regulating artificial intelligence, dealing a blow to Silicon Valley and White House officials who backed the measure. During an overnight voting session, senators overwhelmingly opposed the language, with a vote of 99-1. This rejection occurred despite support for the pause on state AI legislation from GOP allies in the tech industry and White House technology advisors.
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Senate Votes 99-1 to Strip AI Provision From Trump’s Tax Bill. That’s right, the Senate actually did something useful, and it’s a welcome change of pace.
The Senate overwhelmingly voted to remove a controversial section from what was originally a Trump tax bill, specifically one that aimed to prevent US states from regulating artificial intelligence. The vote was a staggering 99-1, showing a clear and strong consensus against the provision. It seems like Congress can actually come together, even if it’s a rare occasion.
This whole thing was spearheaded by Senator Marsha Blackburn, who voiced concerns that the measure would undermine her state’s own regulations regarding AI, specifically the Elvis Act in Tennessee. The Elvis Act is an interesting piece of legislation that protects musicians by preventing the unauthorized use of AI to mimic their voices. This makes you wonder, was it just about the potential issues with AI misuse, or was there also an issue around the regulation of AI infrastructure?
The original plan was pretty concerning, and in a way, feels like a classic political play. Some folks believe this was just to create a fake problem, fix it, and take credit for being the heroes. They might have allowed this specific aspect of the bill to be exposed to public criticism. This allowed the media to highlight how awful it was, with the hope that “fixing” it would shift the public’s focus away from the rest of the legislation.
But the real question on everyone’s mind, who was the one dissenting vote? Thom Tillis. It’s a head-scratcher. The removal of this provision is a good start, but it makes you wonder what other terrible things are going to be hidden in the overall bill.
This AI provision would have restricted local control over AI data centers, which could lead to some serious problems. Imagine having no recourse if a noisy data center popped up next door. Think about how the huge demand for energy and water by data centers could be unregulated. It’s easy to see how this could have quickly become a nightmare.
This isn’t just about the future of AI; it’s about protecting local communities and their ability to manage resources and quality of life.
Some might see this as a minor victory, and perhaps it is. But it’s a good sign when politicians can work together to prevent something negative from happening. It shows that these politicians can make a change for the better if they want to. Hopefully, this will serve as a turning point for the bill overall.
The fact that there was such overwhelming opposition to the AI provision is intriguing. The provision being removed really made people feel relieved. It’s a shame that it took such a wide margin of agreement to get rid of this, considering how much people generally disagree with each other.
The removal of this section might hasten the passage of the bill as a whole. It would not be surprising if some Republicans only agreed to strip it knowing the House may have had an issue in passing the bill with the provision. The fact that the House might have issues is just another example that the public doesn’t have as much control as they should.
Let’s be real: this is about billionaire-funded groups trying to push their agenda. No one likes to see those groups in the Democratic Party.