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Minnesota lawmakers propose bill to reign in AI
Minnesota lawmakers are proposing a bill to take on artificial intelligence.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A bipartisan group of Minnesota lawmakers has put forth a package of bills aimed at regulating artificial intelligence in Minnesota.
AI regulations
What we know:
The package of five bills targets key areas of AI regulation: prohibiting the use of artificial intelligence in health insurance decisions, barring children's access to chatbots, blocking the use of AI to set product prices in real time, mandating disclosure when consumers interact with AI, and banning government surveillance through reverse-keyword and reverse-location searches.
What they're saying:
At a news conference Monday morning, lawmakers raised their concerns about the dangers of artificial intelligence.
"The way that consumer-facing AI has been rolled out is a five-alarm fire for our society, and has devastating consequences and deadly consequences for both humans and our constitutional rights," said Sen. Erin Maye Quade.
"I have long said the law is not keeping up with technology," added Sen. Eric Lucero. "Technology has been innovating since the beginning of time, and as that technology is adopted in the private sector for use and in the public sector by government, it can create a direct threat to our individual liberties."
A major concern for lawmakers was how children interact with the relatively new technology.
"Having access to a chatbot that can talk to them about virtually any topic, with no regulation whatsoever, has been proven deadly in a number of cases," said Sen. Maye Quade. "You have 14 year olds, 11 year olds, 9 year olds, dying by suicide, by developing eating disorders, engaging in self-harm."
Federal roadblock?
What we don't know:
What remains unclear is how an executive order issued by President Trump last year could potentially thwart efforts by state lawmakers to rein in artificial intelligence.
The order established an AI litigation task force to help challenge state laws on artificial intelligence. The order also calls for state laws restricting AI to be evaluated and orders the Secretary of Commerce to pull Broadband Equity Access and Deployment funding from states with "onerous" laws.
In his order, the president argues that requiring artificial intelligence companies to navigate a "patchwork" of state laws puts the United States at a disadvantage in the AI race.
The order does call for uniform federal regulations on artificial intelligence, and the order carves out exemptions for certain AI state laws that protect children and computer/data infrastructure.