Utah hosts summit on AI legislature; Gov. Cox promotes “Pro- Human AI policy,” responsible AI use and state-level regulation

The Utah Office of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy, in conjunc­tion with the Gover­nor’s Office of Econom­ic Opportunity and the Utah Department of Commerce, held a sum­mit on December 2, 2025, where industry leaders and local policy makers came together to address issues sur­rounding the develop­ing AI industry.

Image via Governor Cox’s Office.

Said Governor Spen­cer Cox, “What we want is that every decision that we make related to AI, wherever it exists: is it serving humankind, is it pro­moting human flour­ishing? Or is it making us dumber, and worse? … AI must always be human-guided. Sys­tems should protect dignity, preserve hu­man agency and en­sure that individuals stay in control of the tools that shape their work and their lives.”

Cox’s presentation, along with founding members of leading AI-industry members like Cloudflare and NVIDIA, highlighted the efforts of the state to make AI safer and more productive in the state of Utah – efforts invested in education and infrastructure.

In addition to the eco­nomic side of the topic, the summit also dis­cussed policy concerns, with Cox renewing his opposition to sweeping, federally controlled AI regulations. Said Cox, “The states must act … in this next [legis­lative] session, we’re going to be looking at harm reduction in AI companions, trans­parency around deep fakes and an upcom­ing study around data ownership and control more broadly, as well as interaction with AI and healthcare.” Cox’s statements mirror an official letter sent by lawmakers from around the country, including Utah Sena­tors and House Rep­resentatives; stated the letter’s opening, “We write to convey our strong opposition to the inclusion of any preemption language in the National De­fense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would curtail ongoing state efforts to address the impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI). A blanket prohibition on state and local AI and automated deci­sion-system regulation debate in statehouses and impose a sweeping pause on policymaking at the very moment when communities are seeking responsive so­lutions.” Governor Cox said on the issue, “If [Congress] is not going to function the way it was designed to func­tion, the states must act, and we must have the ability to do that, and we will fight for the ability to do that.”

Utah’s economy has already seen a sig­nificant shift toward AI as an industry, with spikes in power pro­duction capability and hundreds of acres of property being bought and developed for AI processing centers. Recently introduced nuclear power initia­tives are preparing to introduce locally sized, modular nuclear reac­tors adjacent to these AI centers to mitigate power demands and environmental impact. This trend looks to be primed to continue as policy makers and eco­nomic bodies further invest in the develop­ment of AI in the com­ing years.