DeSantis warns of big tech power and urges limits on AI
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Summary
Gov. Ron DeSantis told a New Haven audience that a small number of companies are driving AI, warned against government backstops that would preempt state authority, and raised concerns about data access, censorship and synthetic media harms to individuals.
Gov. Ron DeSantis used part of his Buckley Institute remarks to issue a cautionary note on artificial intelligence and large technology firms.
He asserted that only a handful of very large companies now drive most AI development and said those companies seek subsidies and regulatory guarantees that could make the sector "too big to fail." DeSantis criticized a congressional proposal he described as a 10-year moratorium that would restrict state-level action on AI, arguing such preemption would be contrary to conservative principles of state authority.
The governor raised concerns about the energy demands of data centers, potential costs passed to consumers, and the risk that AI systems could incorporate intellectual property without providing compensation. He also warned about synthetic media—AI-generated video or audio that could put words in people's mouths—and stressed the need to protect individuals, especially young people, from social-media harms and AI's potential negative effects.
DeSantis framed these remarks as calls for conservative regulation of technology that preserves individual agency and prevents concentrated corporate power; he did not supply proposed statutory text or regulatory language in the speech.