▶Watch the video on YouTubeDate saved: 2026-10-18 18:00 (PDT)
Sources: Bloomberg Law, Faegre Drinker, CNN, Law360, Morgan Lewis
Key findings
Federal retreat from AI regulation
- Bloomberg Law (Oct 2026): Despite warnings from AI companies about safety and security risks, the Trump administration has signaled a hands-off approach to AI regulation. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated the DOJ "won't impose new regulatory burdens on the AI industry through standalone enforcement actions." President Trump enabled a voluntary safety pact among AI CEOs, allowing the industry to self-regulate. The DOJ's approach mirrors its April 2025 cryptocurrency memorandum, which declared the Justice Department "is not a digital assets regulator." The December 2025 executive order established the AI Litigation Task Force with a mission to "sustain and enhance the United States' global AI dominance through a minimally burdensome national policy framework for AI." (Source)
- Faegre Drinker (Oct 14, 2026): On September 23, 2026, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue briefed the UN Security Council on the risks of frontier AI, with Nobel-level AI researcher Yoshua Bengio warning that AI beyond human control represents a threat "that none can contain alone and that does not respect the borders we defend." The Trump administration rejected these calls outright — White House science adviser Michael Kratsios told the Security Council that the pace of AI development "is not a reason to pause" or "constrain it with new global governance structures." On September 29, Trump hosted AI executives at the White House, calling their voluntary agreement "morally binding" and suggesting a 10-person committee to oversee the industry. On October 4, Trump named Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to lead a new White House "Super Intelligence Force." The US and China agreed to an AI "hotline" and a formal AI dialogue. (Source)
State-level AI regulation surges
- Bloomberg Law (Oct 2026): California's Transparency in Frontier AI Act took effect earlier this year, requiring large developers of frontier models to publish information about training datasets, safety frameworks, and risk assessments, with penalties up to $1 million per violation. New York, Illinois, and Connecticut have enacted similar laws. Illinois mandates annual independent third-party audits of safety practices. Connecticut requires any business using automated tools in employment decisions to document bias testing and provide pre-use notices to workers. Montana enacted a law restricting AI in political advertisements (since preliminarily enjoined). Pennsylvania's Attorney General sued a chatbot operator for falsely representing itself as a licensed psychiatrist. The DOJ intervened in xAI's challenge to Colorado's "Algorithmic Discrimination" law, arguing it violates the Equal Protection Clause. (Source)
- Faegre Drinker (Oct 14, 2026): California's executive order fast-tracks AI auditor laws and explores an AI "kill switch." Illinois' governor established an Artificial Intelligence Cabinet. New York began implementing the RAISE Act, requiring large frontier AI developers to publish safety frameworks, report critical safety incidents within 72 hours, and file quarterly catastrophic-risk assessments. The NYC Council unveiled a package of AI regulations. Maryland announced an AI framework. A multistate AG coalition put AI and algorithmic decision-making on notice. (Source)
Industry and legal developments
- CNN (Oct 18, 2026): Character.ai filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following lawsuits alleging ties to teen suicides. OpenAI accused a former employee of leaking intelligence on an AI device to Apple. LinkedIn is cracking down on AI-written posts. Grab announced a new Thailand initiative with OpenAI. A CNN feature explored what happens if AI agents start speaking their own language. (Source)
- Law360 (Oct 2026): A Super Micro Computer shareholder hit company directors with a derivative suit accusing them of enabling an alleged scheme that sent AI tech to Chinese companies in violation of export controls. A now-fired New Jersey deputy attorney general was arrested and charged with using AI to create child pornography and distributing it on Discord. Hogan Lovells established a board to oversee the firm's use of AI. (Source)
- Morgan Lewis (May 2026): The EU, UK, US, and Middle East continue to take different approaches to AI oversight and enforcement. AI-related legal issues extend across privacy, employment, IP, cybersecurity, antitrust, and litigation. The EU's proposed Digital Omnibus and evolving EU AI Act obligations remain key developments. Algorithmic pricing scrutiny and antitrust enforcement trends are intensifying. (Source)
Source links
- Bloomberg Law — DOJ's Retreat on AI Enforcement Puts Focus on State Regulators
- Faegre Drinker — Global and Domestic Policymakers Struggle to Keep Pace with AI Advancement
- CNN — World News
- Law360 — AI Legal News
- Morgan Lewis — The New Rules of AI: A Global Legal Overview
- White House — Executive Order: Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence
- APT — Todd Blanche Says Justice Department Will Not Regulate AI: “We’re Prosecutors, Not Regulators” | APT
- Joanna Peña-Bickley — The New AI Regulators: How States are becoming America’s AI Police
Compiled by Hermes scheduled research — saved 2026-10-18
