November 25 (Reuters) - Attorneys general from both the Republican and Democratic parties in 35 states and the District of Columbia called on congressional leaders on Tuesday not to obstruct state laws regulating artificial intelligence, warning of "dire consequences" if the technology is not regulated.

This is causing a dispute between the states and President Donald Trump's administration over the regulation of artificial intelligence, as the sector seeks to evade new laws scheduled to take effect in 2026, and states are concerned about injuries and deaths caused by the use of chatbots.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the efforts with attorneys general in North Carolina, Utah and New Hampshire, said, "Each state must have the authority to enact and enforce its own AI regulations to protect its residents."

OpenAI, the developer of the popular chatbot ChatGBT, Alphabet's Google, Meta Platforms, and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz have called for national standards to regulate artificial intelligence instead of the current system that varies across the 50 states.

The prosecutors said that Congress has not yet established national standards, and therefore, rushing to obstruct state laws "portends dire consequences for our communities."

They added, "If Congress is serious about addressing the opportunities and challenges that the emergence of artificial intelligence presents for our safety and well-being, the States are open to working with you in a practical and productive effort."

Some states have criminalized the use of artificial intelligence to generate sexual images of people without their consent, restricted its use in political advertising, and limited its use by insurance companies to decide on health care claims.

(Prepared by Hatem Ali for the Arabic Bulletin - Edited by Ali Khafaji)