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The A.I. Moratorium War Is Just Beginning…

Yes, the state regulatory ban was suddenly stripped out of Trump’s signature bill, but the A.I. industry and its army of lobbyists won’t let the hallmark technology of our time be regulated without their perspective. Which is why everyone is paying attention to a bill currently sitting on Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk.

Kathy Hochul
A coalition of startups and major venture capital firms, including a16z, are all staunchly opposed to the legislation, and have urged Hochul to veto it, warning it might send A.I. companies fleeing from New York. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Ian Krietzberg
July 8, 2025

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Last week, after a tumultuous few days, a provision in Trump’s sprawling, 900-page Big Beautiful Bill Act barring states from regulating A.I. for the next five to 10 years was stripped out. The yanking of the so-called A.I. moratorium was, to put it mildly, a shocking twist—not least because its removal was supported by 99 senators. Adam Thierer, the think tank analyst who first proposed a federal moratorium on state A.I. laws, called the volte-face a “major turning point in U.S. technology policy.”