On April 10, the Financial Times reported that Elon Musk’s xAI company had filed a lawsuit to challenge Colorado’s landmark AI bill. Currently, the Trump administration and major industry players are trying to prevent U.S. states from regulating the technology.
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Colorado’s bill, which will take effect this summer, is the first legislation passed at the state level in the United States to impose protections against “algorithmic discrimination” in AI systems.
xAI said in the lawsuit that the bill would force it to "promote the state's ideological views on many issues, especially racial justice" instead of adhering to its "selfless pursuit of the truth."
xA said that Colorado’s bill violated the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. "This bill prohibits developers of AI systems from making statements that the State of Colorado does not like, while forcing them to adhere to state-imposed orthodox views on controversial topics that attract widespread public attention," xA said in a lawsuit filed in federal court on Thursday.
xAI also said in the filing that the law "severely burdens the development and use of AI" and will "embed state government-preferred views into the underlying structure of AI systems."
In 2024, Colorado became the first state in the United States to pass a comprehensive regulatory bill for AI to prevent AI from discriminating in areas such as education, employment, loans, medical care, and housing. The bill requires developers to avoid "algorithmic discrimination," notify state attorneys general of "foreseeable risks," and provide consumers with the opportunity to "correct any inaccurate personal data" and "appeal adverse material decisions."
The Colorado Attorney General's Office declined to comment on the lawsuit as of press time.