By J. J. Ament and Dave Davia
Colorado’s thriving tech sector has supercharged our state’s economy and positioned us as a global innovation leader. However, clashing regulations cropping up across the country threaten to derail this progress, and it is clear that we need a pragmatic national AI policy to keep this success story moving forward.
A snapshot across the country reveals that an increasing number of states are advancing fragmented AI rules that threaten to stifle innovation and create a fractured regulatory system for emerging technologies. Each new law that goes into this patchwork is one more hoop for innovators to jump through, as well as a risk to holistic economic growth.
Colorado’s experience should serve as a cautionary tale. Last year, the Centennial State enacted the nation’s first comprehensive AI legislation (SB 24-205) following an 11-hour sprint to jam the bill through both chambers of the General Assembly before the end of legislative session. Governor Polis signed the bill into law with reservations and vowed to work with stakeholders to fix the measure’s flaws in subsequent years. Fast forward to the Spring of 2025, and legislators, in the waning days of session, once again tried to fast-track a “legislative fix” to SB24-205. This move drew significant concern from the tech community and triggered a letter from Governor Polis and other state, federal, and local policymakers asking for the delayed implementation of SB24-205 and urging a more thoughtful and collaboratively approach to the policy.
This is just a sample of the turmoil that lies ahead as more states push their own competing AI bills. Across the nation, over one thousand AI bills have been introduced this year alone. All of which contain differing definitions, requirements, and rulemakings, creating a patchwork of mismatched policies. While this is burdensome for companies of all sizes, small- and medium-size businesses are the ones bearing the brunt of implementation. Many of those companies lack the legal resources to navigate the maze of novel tech regulations that pop up more and more each day.
As representatives of Colorado’s top businesses, we believe that a better approach would be a comprehensive federal framework that delivers consistency and predictability for developers, deployers, and users of AI tools. Preemption of state legislation gives federal lawmakers a window in which to develop and enact sensible AI policies that protect consumers while spurring economic growth.
This issue is too important to get wrong. Colorado has nurtured an incredibly competitive tech ecosystem that supports the ongoing ingenuity of our unrivaled entrepreneurs, university networks, and federal labs. This flourishing innovation economy has made us leaders in critical technologies that are shaping our future like AI and quantum computing—a hard-fought success we risk forfeiting if we keep pushing anti-growth policies. The tech sector now accounts for 10 percent of our state’s total employment, and has added more than 47,000 net jobs from 2018 to 2023, more than any other industry in the state. Additionally, 42 percent of Colorado small businesses are using AI tools to improve their business models, and 84 percent of those have expanded their workforce and grew their profits. Colorado ranks among the top 15 states for AI hiring and for AI jobs as a share of total jobs. Denver, specifically, is among the top 20 metro areas for AI hiring and ranks 21st for AI job creation. This growth highlights our region’s rising influence in the AI economy.
Our ability to develop and innovate in the AI space is more critical than ever, especially as other nations advance policies that reflect and adapt to multicultural and fast developing contexts. Moving forward with a patchwork of disjointed regulations, instead of passing responsible federal policy, serves only to erode our leadership and give our competitors an advantage.
Congress has a chance to get AI policy right and prepare Colorado and the U.S. for years of economic success. Let’s seize this moment.