WASHINGTON — As states rush to regulate artificial intelligence (AI), a new white paper from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) warns that allowing private lawsuits without proof of harm would derail innovation, empower trial lawyers, and undermine responsible governance. “Artificial Intelligence, Not Artificial Litigation,” by PPI Senior Fellow Philip S. Goldberg and AI governance attorney Josh Hansen, urges lawmakers to reject a rising trend: giving private, for-profit attorneys sweeping power to enforce new AI laws.
The authors warn that so-called “private rights of action” would enable speculative lawsuits over AI use, often by uninjured plaintiffs, enriching lawyers at the expense of developers, startups and American competitiveness.
“Law enforcement, particularly over emerging technology such as AI, requires prosecutorial judgment, where governments can investigate the facts and take appropriate steps to protect the public, not for profit lawsuits where private lawyers leverage the regulations to enlarge their own wallets,” said Goldberg. “History has shown that if states turn AI law enforcement over to private attorneys, it is going to incentivize litigation abuse. If we want to lead the world in AI, we must reject legal frameworks that punish innovation instead of protecting consumers.”
Goldberg and Hansen draw lessons from decades of lawsuit abuse under laws like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act, where lawyers exploited technicalities to extract massive paydays. They argue that similar AI-related provisions would unleash a torrent of class actions untethered from any actual injuries.
Instead, the authors call for:
The report cites bipartisan examples, such as California, Virginia and Colorado, where lawmakers are prioritizing regulatory clarity and flexibility over legal uncertainty. It also highlights how existing laws already empower consumers to sue over AI-related harms, from discrimination to privacy violations, without inviting frivolous claims.
“The stakes on the race over AI are too high to let private lawyers turn AI law enforcement into a for-profit game of bounty hunting,” said Goldberg. “We need clear rules and fair oversight, with the public sector, not private contingency fee lawyers, leading the charge.”
Read and download the report here.
Founded in 1989, PPI is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Find an expert and learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Follow us @PPI.
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Media Contact: Ian O’Keefe – iokeefe@ppionline.org
