Much work has been underway by groups, companies, policymakers here in the US and abroad to develop roadmaps for tackling all the big questions AI brings up—like how we keep our data private, protect our rights, and make sure AI plays nice.
It’s kind of wild to think about how fast AI is changing everything around us. Remember 20 years ago? Technology that’s everyday and seems normal to us now would have blown our minds back then. You don’t even need to be anywhere near your washing machine to get it started—just tap a button on your phone. We ask our phones to give us play-by-play instructions to get us somewhere across town. Now it’s even easy to change someone’s appearance and words in a video. And then there’s the magic of turning simple bullet points into a full-blown article online (but not this article, I promise!).
As we dive deeper into the world of AI, with every new gadget and service, it’s clear there’s great potential. But with great potential comes power and with power comes great responsibility, right? We’ve got to make sure that as we roll out more AI, we’re keeping an eye on the big risks—things like reputational damage, legal ramifications, ethical issues, and of course privacy and security.
It turns out that many states are thinking along these lines too. They’re putting their own AI governance plans into action, aiming to grasp both the opportunities and the pitfalls of AI in all sorts of fields. And guess what? This year, over 40 states have been busy introducing AI legislation. Alaska’s been right there in the mix, and I’m proud to say my own bill was the first out of the gate for Alaska! You can read my sponsor statement which explains the bill here. We are presently working on a good list of amendments to improve SB 177 but you can see the first version of the bill here.
I’ve been participating in sessions and workgroups across the country to learn about AI and during our upcoming extended weekend break, I’ll be joining a panel on AI Governance, Safety, and Ethics in Baltimore. The folks at Healthcare IT Connect are setting up this boot camp to get experts from all over to chew over how we make AI trustworthy, no matter the industry. It’s a huge honor to be included, and I’m all geared up to share why I included what I did in my bill, SB 177, and dive into discussions about making AI work for us in ethical, effective, and secure ways.
As we stand on this digital frontier, it’s more important than ever to be transparent, careful, and deliberate about our goals and intentions in regard to AI. I’m thrilled to be part of that conversation on your behalf, helping shape a future where AI, when used by state employees, will be deployed in a trustworthy and appropriate manner.
📝Note: View a great slide deck my aide Stephen prepared for our committee presentation here that explains the purpose and contents of SB 177.
