State AI Laws, Preemption and Health Innovation with Adam Thierer

In Episode 129 of DC EKG, Joe Grogan sits down with returning guest Adam Thierer, Resident Senior Fellow for Technology and Innovation at the R Street Institute, to break down the surge of state by state AI laws and why a patchwork approach could slow innovation, especially in healthcare. Adam explains how more than a thousand state AI bills are flooding the zone, what types of “everything bills” are emerging, and why some states are trying to set national standards from Albany or Sacramento. Joe and Adam connect the federalism debate to real world health innovation, including mental health chatbots, algorithmic discrimination laws, and why compliance costs hit “little tech” hardest. They also discuss Adam’s “AI Articles of Confederation” framing, the failed effort to create a federal moratorium on state AI rules, and what a better model could look like, such as regulatory inventories, learning labs, and sandbox style approaches that allow experimentation without shutting innovation down. Key link: https://www.rstreet.org/commentary/congress-should-lead-on-ai-policy-not-the-states/ In This Conversation Why state AI bills are accelerating and what is driving them “Mega measures” that try to regulate frontier models, child safety, jobs, and copyright in one bill New York and California style rulemaking with national spillover The Micron example and how permitting and lawsuits can stop progress Algorithmic discrimination laws and why healthcare gets hit hardest Mental health chatbot bans and the access and workforce tradeoffs Preemption and why Congress keeps punting Alternative models: inventories, learning labs, sandboxes, and targeted gap fixes Timestamps0:00 What is happening with state AI bills right now1:36 Adam’s background and how he got into AI policy5:55 The shift from federal regulation to state action10:27 What these state bills try to regulate13:29 Micron, permitting delays, and stopping progress20:00 Why some red states are pushing AI Bills of Rights26:24 “AI Articles of Confederation” and why it matters31:01 The attempted moratorium in the “big, beautiful bill”38:03 Preview of “The AI Terrible Ten” and worst state models39:43 Mental health chatbot bans and the mental health crisis44:25 What governors should do instead of rushing to regulate49:05 What Adam is tracking next51:48 What AI tools Adam uses52:42 Where to find Adam’s work SEO Keywordsstate AI laws, AI policy, federal preemption, healthcare innovation, algorithmic discrimination, mental health chatbots, interoperability, AI regulation About Our GuestAdam Thierer is a Resident Senior Fellow at the R Street Institute focused on technology and innovation policy. He writes and speaks widely on AI governance, federalism and preemption, and how regulatory models can either accelerate or stall innovation, including in healthcare. Podcast: DC EKG with Joe GroganEpisode: 129Guest: Adam Thierer, Resident Senior Fellow, Technology and Innovation, R Street InstituteSponsor: Survivors for Solutions – https://survivorsforsolutions.orgExecutive Producer: John “CZ” Czwartacki, DC EKG PodcastProducer: Julie Riga, Stay on Course Studios – https://www.stayoncourse.studio