Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is leading a bipartisan effort to get Congress to study how artificial intelligence (AI) can be misused to exploit children through child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Signed by a remarkable coalition of 54 states and territories, the letter urges Congress to protect children from AI-enabled harm. A two-step process is proposed. First, appoint a commission to identify the ways AI can harm children. Second, draft and pass legislation to prevent those harms from occurring.

“We’re at a critical moment. By means of smart, pragmatic regulation, we can keep kids safe from AI’s potential dangers,” said Attorney General Rosenblum. “Congress needs to take the lead, and the outpouring of support from Attorneys General across our country and its territories demonstrates we are ready to support this work however we can.”

The AGs’ letter addresses, in disturbing detail, how AI already is being used to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM). “We are engaged in a race against time,” the letter states, “to protect the children of our country from the dangers of AI. Indeed, the proverbial walls of the city have already been breached. Now is the time to act.”

The letter’s four lead states are Oregon, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. They are joined in this effort by Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia. Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.