In recent years, state governments have increasingly taken on the responsibility of regulating artificial intelligence (AI) in the public sector due to a lack of federal action. The aim is to ensure that AI is used effectively, safely, and responsibly by government agencies while protecting individual rights. State legislation has been introduced to harness AI's potential benefits like improved efficiency and customer service.
In 2024 alone, more than 40 bills were introduced across various states focusing specifically on public sector AI usage, with 12 being enacted into law. These include California’s SB 896, Delaware’s HB 333, Florida’s SB 1680, Indiana’s SB 150, Maryland’s SB 818, New Hampshire’s HB 1688, New York’s SB 7543, Pennsylvania’s HR 170, Tennessee’s HB 2325, Virginia’s SB 487, Washington’s SB 5838, and West Virginia’s HB 5690. Since at least the previous year, states such as Maryland and Connecticut have passed laws specifically addressing government use of AI.
The legislative proposals typically seek to promote transparent and responsible AI use within government agencies. Some include provisions for risk management practices for high-risk AI applications and appointing Chief AI Officers to oversee these technologies. However, most proposed bills from last year focused on non-binding measures like reporting requirements or pilot projects rather than mandatory regulations.
Six main themes emerged from the legislative efforts in the past year: creating task forces and studies; implementing risk management practices; publishing AI inventories; imposing new procurement requirements; establishing pilot programs; and hiring Chief AI Officers.
Task forces are a prominent feature in many bills aimed at studying or overseeing AI usage within states. For instance, New York's SB 8755 proposes significant oversight authority for an AI task force. Risk management practices are another focus area with only three successful enactments—Maryland's SB 818 among them—despite numerous proposals.
Bills requiring state agencies to publish inventories of their AI systems vary widely in scope and detail. Procurement-related proposals set specific criteria for acquiring AI systems or require vendor disclosures about using such technology in government contracts.
Some states are exploring pilot programs for testing AI applications within governmental functions like benefits delivery. Proposals also exist for appointing Chief AI Officers to guide agency-level strategies concerning artificial intelligence.
Examples like Maryland's SB 818 provide robust frameworks by mandating impact assessments before deploying high-risk systems while ensuring transparency through public reporting. As legislators prepare for the upcoming session in January next year (2025), key recommendations suggest focusing on transparency through annual publicly available inventories of all government-used AIs regardless of their perceived risks level along with establishing comprehensive governance structures backed by adequate resources needed when deploying these complex technologies responsibly across different sectors statewide including consultation phases involving diverse stakeholders ranging from civil society groups academia impacted communities etc., which should ultimately result into better outcomes overall avoiding any unintended consequences stemming out unintentional blanket prohibitions especially related benefit determinations thus safeguarding routine service deliveries intact moving forward positively towards future challenges ahead concerning this rapidly evolving domain touching upon critical aspects societal lives today tomorrow alike now more than ever before really 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