<p>Governor Wes Moore (D-MD) stated that states should develop their own artificial intelligence (AI) regulatory frameworks in the absence of federal guidelines. Moore made these remarks during a panel at the Clinton Global Initiative conference on AI.</p>
<p>Moore emphasized the need for federal leadership, saying, “The absence of federal leadership on this is staggering, and we need it.” His comments come as discussions about AI regulation gain traction among politicians nationwide, following calls from leaders in AI research for a national slowdown and federal oversight on model development.</p>
<p>During the panel, Moore highlighted Maryland's AI regulation bill passed in 2024 and a new AI framework introduced by his administration. He suggested that Maryland's framework could serve as a model for other states aiming to implement ethics-based regulations in the AI sector.</p>
<p>Moore articulated that the proposed AI guardrails should focus on ethical standards, including the protection of children from harmful algorithms, safeguarding jobs, and securing infrastructure assets. He stated that a legal framework is necessary for the technology's development, while acknowledging ongoing political discussions regarding the evolving nature of AI applications.</p>
<p>“Anyone who’s then working with our state has to understand these are our baseline values that you need to have a good framework of if this work is going to progress and move forward,” Moore said. He expressed confidence that Maryland's framework could be scalable for other states.</p>
<p>In response to a question from moderator Chelsea Clinton about accountability measures in Maryland, Moore confirmed that the state has mechanisms to hold actors accountable, noting that Maryland passed an initial AI law in 2024, following an executive order he signed that year. This order established guidelines for how the Maryland government can collaborate with AI, including creating a public inventory of AI usage by state agencies.</p>
<p>On the same day, Moore announced a new framework aimed at “mitigating the risks” associated with frontier AI. This framework is based on the ethical standards he discussed at the panel, and his administration is working on legislative recommendations for regulating frontier AI models.</p>
<p>His office outlined several key recommendations for the developing framework, including safety frameworks and testing, worker protections, independent third-party audits and evaluations, whistleblower protections, public reporting, and 72-hour incident reporting.</p>
<p>Moore's initiative follows the trend of other governors engaging in the AI regulatory conversation. In Virginia, Governor Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) recently introduced a framework for state data center regulations and urged congressional leaders to take action on a comprehensive federal AI framework.</p>