Josh Hawley warns of AI dangers as MO regulations languish
Josh Hawley warns of AI dangers as MO regulations languish
https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article316047913.html
Publish Date: 2026-06-09 06:00:00
Source Domain: www.kansascity.com
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Standing at a podium in Washington last week, Missouri’s senior senator called on Republicans to regulate the artificial intelligence industry in a searing speech that cast the dangers of AI as a moral dilemma.
“Left to itself, artificial intelligence will not choose moral liberty,” said U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley. “It will choose the appetite. It will gather power into the fewest hands the world has ever seen and call the result progress.”
Hawley’s address at a gala hosted by the conservative think tank American Compass underscored the Missouri Republican’s attempts to carve out a populist, pro-worker stance on AI regulation. Harkening back to America’s founding and what he calls its moral covenant, Hawley has framed AI as an unprecedented and fundamental test of society.
Over the last several months, Hawley’s position on AI has echoed his populist stances on other issues, such as overtures to organized labor. Fights over the future of the AI industry and the massive data centers that power it have been at the center of politics nationally and across Missouri, sparking fierce voter backlash in local elections in Independence and across the state in Festus.
“We must regulate, and yes, I did use that verb — regulate — artificial intelligence in the economy to ensure that it aids the worker, but does not displace him,” Hawley said during his speech last week.
As President Donald Trump and national Republicans have promoted a hands-off approach to AI, Hawley — rumored as a potential presidential candidate in 2028 — has pushed a more hard-line stance on regulation….
