The multibillion-dollar settlement Arkansas and other states reached with Facebook parent Meta validated a cause that’s been a rare area of bipartisan consensus: reining in social media.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has pushed for limits on teens’ use of social media and screen time, while fellow Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin is fighting TikTok, Snapchat and several other platforms in court. The crackdown is one of the few times you’ll find the GOP figures on the same page as high-profile Democrats like California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Growing concerns about artificial intelligence offer another bipartisan opportunity for Arkansas and other states to check technology before its harms become even more entrenched.

Inaction from Congress and dismissals by President Donald Trump of calls for AI guardrails show states can’t rely on the federal government alone to respond to warnings that the technology could “kill us all” before the end of the decade.

Such concerns were once easily disregarded as the fears of “doomers” and modern-day Luddites opposed to any technological advancement. But Anthropic’s CEO pushing for the industry to slow down AI development will make it harder for state lawmakers to ignore the issue when they convene next year.

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Arkansas doesn’t have to wait for Washington to catch up to the threat. As it demonstrated with fights against social media giants through lawsuits and legislation, the state recognizes a role in protecting citizens when technology firms won’t.

“The states are the laboratories of democracy, and I am proud of Arkansas’ bold actions,” Sanders wrote in a letter to congressional leaders urging passage of the Kids Online Safety Act.

The effects of artificial intelligence are already showing up in Arkansas’ politics, with communities pushing back against data centers needed to power the technology and calling for an end to the use of Flock surveillance cameras. Polling repeatedly shows bipartisan concern about data centers and artificial intelligence overall.

That doesn’t necessarily open the door for Arkansas and other states to regulate the development of AI. A technology that doesn’t stop at state borders and federal preemption may make regulation in Arkansas difficult.

But it’s still possible, as California has proven with new laws that include a state registry for AI auditors. Illinois and New York have also enacted measures aimed at regulating AI development. 

There are plenty of other ways for Arkansas to address the harms of AI.

That includes curbing AI in the classroom, as it has with cellphones and social media. Following New York City’s example, the state could place a moratorium on AI’s use in elementary and middle school classrooms.

Arkansas can also ensure that its citizens are protected against AI being the decision-maker on whether they keep their jobs and health insurance, or are eligible for public benefits. And lawmakers can push for more transparency when AI is used by health professionals and seek disclosure from AI companies on what data is being used to train their models.

And just like the state pushed for a minimum age for using social media, Arkansas can place similar limits on companion chatbots and require providers to put more mental health safeguards in place.

None of these proposals on their own would address the alarm bells about AI becoming an existential threat. The global risk researchers have raised about unchecked artificial intelligence is one that the state can’t tackle on its own.

But that doesn’t mean Arkansas can sit on the sidelines either.