Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has emerged as a prominent critic of artificial intelligence, arguing that the technology poses profound threats to privacy, jobs and democratic institutions and urging concrete legal limits including what he calls an “AI bill of rights.”

Central message and recent remarks

Speaking at public events and roundtables this year, DeSantis said the growth of AI must be checked and that society should “reject” unchecked deployment of the technology “with every fiber of our being,” a formulation that captures his increasingly skeptical posture toward generative AI and large-scale model deployment.

Policy proposals: an AI bill of rights

DeSantis has proposed a set of policy changes he frames as an “AI bill of rights,” aimed at constraining how companies and government use large AI systems and protecting citizens from perceived harms.

Key elements described by his office and supporters include:

• Stricter limits on automated decision-making in areas that affect employment, credit and public benefits;
• Transparency requirements for companies using generative AI, including labeling AI-generated content and disclosing data sources and training practices;
• Stronger protections for children and students against AI systems used in schools;
• Local control over data-center siting and tougher environmental review for large AI infrastructure projects.

Political positioning and coalition

DeSantis’s stance has put him at odds with parts of the tech industry and with some federal officials who favor industry-led safeguards and innovation-friendly regulation. At the same time, his criticism of AI aligns him with both skeptical progressive voices and some right-leaning figures who see AI as a threat to jobs, privacy or local communities.

Critics and supporters

Supporters of tighter regulation praise DeSantis for forcing the debate beyond Silicon Valley talking points and for focusing attention on real-world harms such as surveillance, worker displacement and environmental impacts from energy-hungry data centers. Critics say his rhetoric risks stifling innovation and that heavy-handed restrictions could push companies and jobs out of states that adopt such policies.

Context: a broader 2025 turn toward skepticism

DeSantis’s posture comes amid a broader public and political backlash against AI that intensified through 2024 and into 2025, as policymakers, labor groups and local communities raised alarms about job losses, privacy violations and the environmental footprint of data centers. That shift has prompted a range of responses, from voluntary industry commitments to proposals for binding federal rules.

What’s next

DeSantis is expected to continue using public forums to press his case, and his proposals could influence state-level legislation and the national conversation about AI governance. Observers say the main variables to watch are whether his proposals gain legislative traction, how the private sector responds, and whether a coalition of states and federal lawmakers coalesces around stricter limits or a more measured regulatory approach.