AUSTIN, Texas — Texas leaders aim to be at the forefront of understanding and regulating artificial intelligence.
Lawmakers tasked with studying the impact of emerging technology have discovered a vast number of areas where the technology can be used for better or worse.
Rep. Angelia Orr (R-Hillsboro) is a member of the House Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, which is tasked with issuing best practices on emerging technologies. Currently, more than one-third of state agencies are using intelligent automated solutions. One thing Orr would like to see more use of is automated customer service tools.
“What if there was a chatbot on that website that said, 'What's your zip code?' Get your next appointment without making dozens of phone calls,” Orr said.
However, putting personal data online also comes with risks. There are no federal laws protecting data and privacy, leaving the power to regulate emerging technologies to the states.
“If we end up passing a bad or bad bill, it could be much harder to fix it later,” said Kevin Welch, president of the Austin chapter of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Digital rights advocates suggest lawmakers create legislation to address existing threats, such as facial recognition technology's false arrests, academic systems that accuse students of plagiarism, or the misuse of deepfake images. are doing.
“I don't want to see something so draconian as to say, let's prohibit people from accessing these systems without special licenses,” Welch said.
At least one deepfake was used in the lead-up to the May 28 primary runoff. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, who is in a tight race for re-election, criticized an edited image of himself hugging Nancy Pelosi. Experts say other types of election information can also be fabricated, a problem the AI commission can address.
“We'll also look at laws that will help socialize it and protect election officials,” said Samuel Derheimer, director of government relations at Hart InterCivic.
Although the situation is unclear, regulations regarding AI are expected to evolve. The AI and Emerging Technologies Committee is scheduled to release its first report next Thursday.
