WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order on artificial intelligence that will attempt to preempt a growing number of state laws governing the technology with a national standard.
“We want to have one central source of approval,” Trump told reporters, flanked by top advisers, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The order will give the Trump administration tools to push back on the most “onerous” state regulations, said White House AI adviser David Sacks. The administration will not oppose rules governing AI and kids safety, he added.
Major AI players including ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Alphabet’s Google, Meta Platforms, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz have said the federal government, not states, should regulate the industry.
Yet state leaders from both major political parties have said they need the power to put guardrails around AI, particularly as Congress has consistently failed to pass laws governing the tech industry.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has proposed an AI bill of rights that includes data privacy, parental controls and consumer protections. California Governor Gavin Newsom, whose state is home to several major AI companies, signed off on a bill this year requiring major AI developers to explain plans to mitigate potential catastrophic risks.
Other states have passed laws banning AI-generated nonconsensual sexual imagery and unauthorized political deepfakes.
Trump signs order aimed at curbing state AI laws
https://arab.news/6eacs
Trump signs order aimed at curbing state AI laws
Julio Iglesias calls sexual abuse allegations against him ‘absolutely untrue’
- “I deny having abused, coerced or disrespected any woman. These accusations are absolutely false and cause me great sadness,” Iglesias said
- A Spanish high court received formal allegations against Iglesias on Jan. 5, officials said
MADRID: Grammy-winning singer Julio Iglesias on Friday denied allegations that he sexually assaulted two former employees, calling the accusations “absolutely untrue.”
Media reports from earlier this week alleged Iglesias had sexually and physically assaulted two women who worked at his residences in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas between January and October 2021. A day later, Spanish prosecutors said they were studying the allegations.
“With deep sorrow, I respond to the accusations made by two people who previously worked at my home. I deny having abused, coerced or disrespected any woman. These accusations are absolutely false and cause me great sadness,” Iglesias said on Instagram.
Spanish news outlet elDiario.es and US television network Univision Noticias published the joint, three-year investigation on Jan. 13 into Iglesias’ alleged misconduct.
A Spanish high court received formal allegations against Iglesias on Jan. 5, officials said. Iglesias could potentially be taken in front of the Madrid-based court, which can try alleged crimes by Spanish citizens while they are abroad, according to its press office.
A rights group representing the two women said they were accusing Iglesias of “crimes against sexual freedom and indemnity such as sexual harassment” and of “human trafficking for the purpose of forced labor and servitude.” Women’s Link Worldwide said the two women had presented the complaint to the Spanish court.
The 82-year-old is one of the world’s most successful musical artists, having sold more than 300 million records in more than a dozen languages. After making his start in Spain, Iglesias won immense popularity in the US and wider world in the 1970s and 1980s. He is the father of pop singer Enrique Iglesias.
In 1988, he won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance for his album “Un Hombre Solo.” He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 2019.
“I had never experienced such malice, but I still have the strength for people to know the full truth and to defend my dignity against such a serious affront,” Iglesias wrote on social media.
He thanked those who had sent messages of support.
