WASHINGTON, D.C. — The president’s “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence” executive order threatens to sharply restrict states’ ability to regulate the use and expansion of artificial intelligence. By targeting states’ algorithmic-discrimination laws and other safeguards, the executive order could entrench environmental injustices, encourage irresponsible development of data centers in communities facing widespread environmental and health issues, and further undermine scientific integrity in environmental and public health decision making.

“This executive order threatens to make it harder for states to protect their residents and ecosystems from the rapid development of data centers and the biases baked into AI systems,” said Jacob Carter, associate vice president of environmental justice at the National Wildlife Federation. “AI is perpetuating bias in decision-making, including in environmental enforcement, fueling significant water and energy demands that threaten communities’ access to affordable, reliable power, and clean water, and potentially keeping dirty energy online longer. Instead of tying states’ hands, federal AI policy should empower them to set strong guardrails and ensure this technology serves communities, rather than sacrificing them to an unchecked data center boom.”