Artificial Intelligence is working its way into what feels like every part of online life.
Its growth has piqued the interest of Florida policy makers and politicians ahead of the upcoming 2026 Legislative session. But the state may be on a collision course with the federal government.
Despite President Donald Trump saying he intends to release an executive order blocking state-level AI regulation, Governor Ron DeSantis is moving forward with his push for a so-called AI Bill of Rights.
"We want to approach this in the state of Florida very intelligent way, but in a way that's putting Floridians first. I mean, ultimately, we gotta care about the well-being of our people, not worried about the profits of the Magnificent Seven," he said during a roundtable on the issue on December 15th.
The governor's proposal is broad, including prohibiting AI from using an individual's Name, Image, or Likeness (NIL) without their consent, stopping entities from providing therapy or mental health counseling through artificial intelligence, and providing parental controls for minors that would let parents access conversations their children have on AI platforms.
Members of the Florida legislature have also backed the idea that the state should maintain some control over AI regulation. Senate President Ben Albritton said as much during a recent press availability earlier this month.
READ MORE: DeSantis confident Florida won’t run afoul of Trump’s AI order
"We can figure out a way to land the plane, and we can make sure that Floridians have the protections that they deserve. AI is here, it's not going away. We're going to have to adapt what we're doing, and even state government to make sure that it's being used the right way for the right reasons, and the definition of that, I think, will evolve over time," he said.
Another topic policy makers have focused on is the data centers that do AI's computing.
Florida isn't a hotbed for where those large data centers are being built currently but some lawmakers expect more such construction to come to the state. Margaret Barthel, a public media reporter with WAMU in Northern Virginia, has been covering how her region has the highest concentration of data centers in the country, and has continued to see a spike in development amid the AI boom.
"The suburbs outside of DC, are basically the sort of birthplace of what we now know as the internet. And as a result, they had really advanced fiber infrastructure really quickly. And that, obviously, that is one of the things that attracts data centers to an area they also want to be close to major population centers, because that cuts down on something called latency, which is like the time that it takes for the data center to process your request," she said.
That infrastructure, plus tax incentives, helped grow data centers into a 9.1 billion annual industry in Virgina. It's also led to some groups pushing back against more center construction there, citing concerns ranging from increasing utility prices for everyone else, to having negative environmental contamination impacts.
DeSantis has included some of those concerns in his proposed AI bill of rights. For example, it would prohibit government subsidies for the centers and would allow local governments to block their construction.
"Our point of view is, you know, you should not have to pay one dime more and utility costs, water, power, any of this stuff because of this. These are the some of the most wealthy companies in the history of humanity. They should not be able to offload costs onto people that are already strapped with high costs in other areas," he said.
During the Florida legislature's committee meeting where AI data centers were discussed, the conversations were focused on balancing the economic benefits of AI data centers with reducing the downsides.
Cohen with Florida Power and Light said during a Florida House committee meeting about AI that state regulators recently approved a tariff that will allow FPL to charge high energy users, like the data centers, upfront for their upgraded power needs and infrastructure instead of charging other ratepayers.
"They outline the costs, the requirements and the commitments up front, giving data center operators the certainty they need to make long term investments, and at the same time, they protect existing customers. Large scale upgrades needed to serve data centers are not paid for by the general body of customers," she said.
And Christopher Maier, who is overseeing a team selecting data center locations for Cielo Digital infrastructure, told lawmakers he thinks the state is well positioned to bring in data center projects.
"It was always a misperception about hurricanes and the impact of storms in Florida. I think we've done a really good job of positioning ourselves to overcome that. As you all are aware, our utilities have done a tremendous job in hardening the grid. I think a lot of places were probably more resilient and hardened than you're going to see in other places in the country," he said.
What direction the Florida Legislature takes with DeSantis' AI Bill of Rights proposal is still unclear. No comprehensive package has been filed yet, but some policy about AI could be filed before the legislative session officially kicks off.
Copyright 2025 WFSU
