U.S. Sen. Susan Collins says the government must play a stronger role in protecting Americans from the risks of artificial intelligence, calling this week for Congress to establish new consumer protections and safeguard critical infrastructure from the technology.
The five-term Republican’s call for more federal oversight marks an implicit break from President Donald Trump, who has dismissed AI safety concerns as a “conspiracy.” Her Democratic challenger, former state Senate President Troy Jackson, has gone further, casting AI regulation as a worker protection issue and warning that “billionaires” stand to profit while ordinary Mainers absorb the costs.
“The best path forward will balance a recognition of AI’s promise — including breakthroughs in medical advances and accessibility — with its risks,” Collins said in a statement. “Congress should work to protect our critical infrastructure and establish consumer protections, while also maintaining America’s leadership in AI innovation.”
AI safety has rocketed to the top of Washington’s agenda over the past week. A resigning Anthropic researcher warned the technology “could kill us all.” AI executives have called for a lawful, verifiable way to pace its development. Those warnings are adding new urgency to a debate over data centers, jobs and consumer protections that is already reshaping campaigns across Maine.
The researcher, Jacob Coxon, said he spent three years doing AI safety research at Anthropic and OpenAI before resigning from Anthropic last week, arguing the two companies are racing toward “self-improving superintelligence” faster than they can make it safe.
Several of Collins’ colleagues on both sides of the aisle have told reporters at the Capitol this week that more federal regulation is needed. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, has taken the opposite view, saying AI companies can police themselves and that Congress shouldn’t take the lead on safety.
Jackson’s campaign, which has criticized Collins for backing Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a data center proponent who attended a Lincoln event with her last month, said the Democrat would only welcome data centers that create union jobs and protect natural resources. He also supports banning Flock surveillance cameras.
“Troy Jackson believes we need common-sense AI regulations that give workers a seat at the table and protect our kids and our environment from this rapidly-growing technology,” spokesperson Cheyenne Gallivan said. “He knows that if left unchecked, the billionaires benefiting from artificial intelligence will only get richer while workers pay the price for lost jobs, higher utility bills and increased pollution.”
Collins has previously worked on bipartisan legislation targeting AI scams and deceptive AI in elections, while also backing efforts to keep the U.S. ahead of China on the technology. She joined an overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate vote last year to block a proposed 10-year moratorium on state AI regulations.
The conservative group Alliance for a Better Future, which has called for more guardrails on AI but argued Democrats shouldn’t lead the way, recently launched an ad campaign backing Collins and other Republicans, Fox News reported.
Without citing specifics, Trump said there were already “tremendous criminal and regulatory” powers over AI companies. Politicians at the state level are responding to the warnings.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree said she would push for a moratorium on data centers and sign an executive order directing state agencies to build transparency requirements on AI companies and invest in retraining for workers displaced by automation. Republican Bobby Charles has refused donations from data center proponents.
“The people building this technology are now publicly telling us to slow down and take the safety risks seriously,” independent state Sen. Rick Bennett, another gubernatorial candidate, said in a statement. “That’s a signal we should listen to, not wave away.”
Former Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican running for the 2nd Congressional District against State Auditor Matt Dunlap, has said he likes data centers but that they should come with local control and guarantees that no electric bills rise as a result of development. Dunlap, a Democrat, favors benchmarks and standards to ensure benefits for workers, a positive impact on ratepayers and community benefits.
“For AI development we should have sensible guardrails, honest conversations, and good people who will stand behind it,” LePage said.