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Next week is the second, and final, week of Veto. I do not anticipate much action- as you'll quickly see below.
Committee Updates
The House Cybersecurity Committee met yesterday in a joint hearing with the House Judiciary Committee to discuss AI.
The first half of the hearing was SAG-AFTRA and a professor talking about the impacts to the entertainment industry. While this is a serious topic that deserves consideration, I’ll admit that it kept reminding me of the South Park episode where “they took our jobs”. That was the common refrain- AI is a threat to actors and the entertainment industry. The deep fake of Morgan Freeman was wild in its seeming authenticity, I will admit.
The next panel featured plaintiff attorney firm Edelson and tech company representatives, including Google. Edelson’s testimony rambled a bit but the big takeaway was “don’t touch BIPA”. Seriously.
Google spoke about a responsible framework for AI and the amazing ways that AI can aid in research and productivity. I especially liked the “digital assistant for every employee” idea.
One final idea that received a fair bit of attention is dividing responsibility, and legal liability, between AI developers and end users.
There are no tech related committees posted for next week.
President Biden Issues Executive Order on AI
I normally keep the focus in the newsletter to state level issues, but I thought this one was important enough to share given the interest in the topic by state lawmakers here in Springfield.
On Monday, President Biden issued an executive order on artificial intelligence (AI). Illinois State Rep. Rashid, responsible for passing the state’s task force, was on hand for the announcement.
President Biden utilized the Defense Production Act as authority for the order, which requires AI developers to share safety test results and other information with the government. The Commerce Department is to issue guidance about watermarking AI generated content.
The order touches on a multitude of issues including privacy, consumer protection, civil rights and research. The US Chamber was mostly positive, saying in part:
“The Chamber appreciates the priorities outlined in the Executive Order, such as attracting highly skilled workers, bolstering resources needed for intra-government coordination, and speeding up the development of standards.
“However, substantive and process problems still exist. Short overlapping timelines for agency-required action endangers necessary stakeholder input, thereby creating conditions for ill-informed rulemaking and degrading intra-government cooperation. Finally, agencies such as the FTC and CFPB, should not view this as a license to do as they please—all agencies must continue to act within the limits of their Congressional mandates and abide by the Major Questions Doctrine as articulated by the Supreme Court.”
Bill Introductions
No new bills of note.
Rulemaking
No new rulemaking of interest.
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