SALT LAKE CITY — The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence tools has sparked intense scrutiny from the Utah legislature, which plans legislation to put guardrails around new technology.
Senator Kirk Callimore (R-Sandy) said, “This is going to really change our world. Not in years, but in months.”
Sunny Washington once chaired the political action committee for Utah’s multi-billion dollar tech industry.
“One of the things I noticed when I came to the Houses of Parliament was the sheer number of bills introduced each year. “It was submitted as quickly as possible.” I have to read this, and it was really difficult,” Washington said.
She is currently helping design Seer, an app that uses artificial intelligence to solve state legislative complexities.
“It harnesses the power of AI to generate summaries and brief explanations, enabling the public to participate in the legislative process,” Washington explained.
AI is huge today, and its rapid rise is both surprising and alarming to policy makers.
“It’s an incredibly useful and powerful tool,” said Callimore.
Congress has convened a working group to look at AI, which lawmakers see as an advantage in helping the workforce and improving government efficiency.
Rep. Jefferson Moss (R-Saratoga Springs) said, “While there are many applications that we can take advantage of, we are certainly prepared for potential downsides.” “We are looking at civil liberties, the right to privacy and data.
But lawmakers are also concerned about the damage caused by hoax calls and videos that deceive people and spread misinformation.
“Do we need to look at criminal law around AI and technology and the release of things made entirely of AI and deepfakes,” Carrimore asks.
Lawmakers say they hope the bill not only expands the use of AI for many good reasons, but also criminalizes some uses of artificial intelligence for public safety and privacy protection. .
Even tech CEOs have expressed a willingness to impose some kind of regulation.
“I think there should be guardrails, but I also think the people making these tools need to be involved in the process,” Washington said. “I think sometimes people get scared simply because they don’t understand the technology.”
Washington does not believe AI will replace what people do in the Capitol to drive policy.
“What humans can do that AI can’t do is understand a little more context, understand the nuances and relationships and the people behind it. Can I open up new avenues?” Then you can spend that time doing what humans do best: relationships. ”
