Amazon’s security chief warns against AI regulation

Amazon.com Inc.’s Chief Security Officer, Steve Schmidt, has joined a growing chorus of tech executives voicing concerns over government regulation of artificial intelligence.

He warns that increased oversight could stifle innovation and weaken the US’s competitive edge against China.

Speaking to Bloomberg News on Tuesday, Schmidt—who also oversees security at Amazon Web Services (AWS)—cautioned against government overreach in the rapidly evolving AI sector.

He said the tension with regulation of any kind is that it tends to retard progress. Schmidt continued to say their approach is to let the industry define appropriate standards—guided primarily by customer needs and demands.

Tech leaders push back as Washington moves to rein In AI development

Schmidt’s remarks echo those made last month by Microsoft, OpenAI, AMD, and CoreWeave executives during a congressional hearing. The tech leaders argued that government regulation could hinder their ability to compete globally—especially with China, which has made AI development a national priority.

Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, emphasized the necessity of “sensible regulation that doesn’t slow us down,” signaling a widening fissure between innovation and governing within the tech world.

The fight over AI regulation is heating up on Capitol Hill. A controversy erupted when the House tucked language into President Donald Trump’s broad tax package that would prevent states from going their own way to enforce new AI rules. The provision prompted bipartisan pushback and focused attention on a growing worry that there are no controls on the development of AI.

A vocal advocate for unfettered AI growth, Trump has taken steps to dismantle constraints, including repealing the Biden administration’s executive order on AI and promoting AI-related investments in the Middle East.

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the move, calling it essential to national security and asserting that “regulatory restraint” was key to ensuring America’s dominance in AI.

Senate challenges House approach

However, the House provision may not survive Senate scrutiny. Under budget reconciliation rules, only measures directly related to federal spending or revenue can bypass the filibuster and pass with a simple majority.

The Senate proposed alternative language as a workaround: denying federal broadband funding to states that impose their own AI regulations. But the provision’s fate hinges on the ruling of the Senate parliamentarian, who has not yet weighed in.

“We have yet to argue this before the parliamentarian. I anticipate that we will do so this week or next week,” Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz told Bloomberg TV. “I don’t know how she’ll rule.”

Still, Cruz called the Senate’s approach “very sound policy.”

The regulatory debate comes as Amazon ramps up investment in AI infrastructure. The e-commerce and cloud computing giant recently announced plans to spend up to $20 billion on server farms in Pennsylvania—further evidence of the company’s high-stakes bet on artificial intelligence as a core driver of future growth.

Like its peers, Amazon sees AI as not just a technological leap but a geopolitical one. And for now, industry leaders are betting that the fewer the rules, the faster they can run.