Justice Department joins xAI challenge to Colorado AI law

• Taking down AI laws viewed as onerous or not comporting with the administration's goals on AI has been a key part of President Trump's AI policy plans.

Driving the news: xAI sued to block Colorado's AI law earlier this month, alleging it's unconstitutional.

• The law requires AI developers and deployers to disclose certain information when creating algorithms designed for sensitive topics, such as mortgage lending and job-seeking.
• Per the complaint, DOJ takes issue with the law's "explicit carveout for discriminatory algorithms designed to advance 'diversity' or 'redress historic discrimination'."
• The law is set to take effect on June 30.

What they're saying: "Laws that require AI companies to infect their products with woke DEI ideology are illegal," assistant attorney general Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a release.

• "The Justice Department will not stand on the sidelines while states such as Colorado coerce our nation's technological innovators into producing harmful products that advance a radical, far left worldview at odds with the Constitution."
• "AI models should not be required to alter truthful output to comply with DEI," Trump AI adviser David Sacks posted on X.

• The Colorado attorney general's office declined to comment.

The intrigue: As Axios reported on Friday, the Commerce Department was due to review and publish an evaluation of state AI laws and flag "onerous" ones that conflict with federal policy to the Justice Department's AI Litigation Task Force by March 11.

• The Colorado law being challenged by the DOJ was the only state AI law specifically called out in Trump's AI executive order from last year.
• The DOJ didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on whether this lawsuit is part of that work.