SALT LAKE CITY — Following recent alarms over the dangers of artificial intelligence, including one in which an expert claimed the technology could "kill all humans" within the decade, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is calling for a national framework to govern AI companies.
In a letter issued Monday, Cox wrote that AI "must be human-guided and human-controlled in order to reap the benefits to humanity."
The governor acknowledged Utah's Pro-Human AI Initiative he announced last year, and created guardrails around the use of AI in the state. The initiative focuses on workforce, industry, state government use, academia, public policy and learning.
Cox said the state believes "the choice between innovation and safety is a false one," and that the current development trajectory of AI "poses a significant risk of acquiring capabilities without enacting" the core values of the technology being human-controlled.
Anthropic says it blocked possible attempts to use AI to develop bioweapons:
Even as AI industry leaders have shared concerns about artificial intelligence in recent days, voicing stark reminders of the potentially dangerous power it has already amassed, President Donald Trump on Monday downplayed the need for guardrails and called concerns a "sick conspiracy."
Governor Cox is calling for the following items to enact a federal framework surrounding AI:
- Mandatory reporting of serious safety incidents
- Protection for employees, independent evaluators raising safety concerns
- Independent evaluation of systems throughout the development process
- Block the sale of AI chips and other infrastructure to China
Trump downplays need for AI guardrails as industry leaders call for regulation:
Cox added that his framework items should be the "national floor — not a ceiling," and that the federal government should not preempt state authority when it comes to AI.
