Author Archives: Tessa Zavala

Idaho Legislature is considering a bill that will “make it a crime to use sexually explicit images generated by artificial intelligence to harass victims or extort money from the victim depicted. “ Idaho Capital Sun | Idaho Legislature introduces new bill banning explicit AI media to harass or extort victims 

Executive Orders: California + Pennsylvania Task Forces on A.I.:  New Jersey, Oklahoma and Wisconsin Issued policy guidance:  Kansas, South Dakota and Utah A smattering of model acts: European Union’s AI Act, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Recommendations on Artificial Intelligence, &  National Institute of Standards and Technology’s AI Risk Management Framework Route Fifty | A good AI policy needs to consider these 12 […]

Do we regulate AI voices/appearances in advertising? Well, there’s a sweepstakes that uses an AI generated Taylor Swift voice and face. The sweepstake is for a certain cookware brand that had nothing to do with these FaceBook ads. “In April, the Better Business Bureau warned consumers that fake celebrity scams made with A.I. were “more convincing than […]

Politics and A.I. feels like a punch line, and maybe it is. Florida lawmakers are considering disclaimers on any political information that utilizes content derived from artificial intelligence. Miami Herald | 10 Things to Watch as Florida lawmakers begin 2024 session

Recently hackers have taken hold of water systems in the US. The Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa in Pennsylvania connected the hack to its Israeli made system.  Politico’s Morning Cybersecurity provides insight.   The hacks have prompted “four federal agencies and the Israel National Cyber Directorate to issue a joint advisory warning of “malicious cyber activity” against certain devices […]

States that bar or restrict municipally owned broadband may not be eligible for federal broadband funds. “In its draft plan, Texas’ broadband office said only the state’s legislature can change a law that gives preference to private broadband providers. As a result, the office said it cannot allow local governments to be eligible for BEAD funding […]

Al Gore this week suggested that policy makers should ban certain uses of algorithms that are “an abuse of the public forum.” The policy concern is that the algorithms effectively harm our form of government by weaponizing information. @bloombergbusiness The Hill | Al Gore calls social media algorithms ‘digital’ AR-15s

New York State Legislature is considering a Crypto Task Force that would examine the emerging industries of digital currency, cryptocurrency, and blockchain. The 16 member Task Force would be appointed by the Governor and the Legislature to study the industries, including their trade on exchanges, impacts on state and local tax receipts, and energy consumption […]

 Amsterdam is blurring faces of people seen on public CCTV. The policy reason to blur faces is to safeguard people’s privacy. In addition to blurring faces, Amsterdam is blurring license plates and company branding. @worldeconomicforum

California has released a new report, Benefits and Risks of GenerativeArtificial Intelligence Report, laying out guardrails for AI use in state government. The report stresses a need for an ongoing partnership with the Legislature, community, academia, and technical experts.