Welcome to the Future!
Assembly Bill 836 (2023 | NY), signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, prohibits an employer from accessing an employee’s or job applicant’s personal social media. The Governor’s office called the bill a means to “protect the privacy of New Yorkers and protect their rights in the workplace.”
Governing | New York Can No Longer Access Workers’ Private Social Media
Is there a consistent statutory definition of artificial intelligence? No, of course not, can elected officials agree on the color of the sky anymore? So let’s look at 6 different a.i. definitions:
Connecticut SB 1103: An “artificial system that ‘performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant human oversight or can learn from experience and improve such performance when exposed to data sets.”
Louisiana SCR 49: It “combines computer science and robust datasets to enable problem-solving measures directly to consumers.”
North Dakota HB 1361: “Personhood” does not include “artificial intelligence.”
Rhode Island H 6423: It includes “computerized methods and tools, including, but not limited to, machine learning and natural language processing, that act in a way that resembles human cognitive abilities when it comes to solving problems or performing certain tasks.”
Texas HB 2060: Systems capable of “perceiving an environment through data acquisition and processing and interpreting the derived information to take an action or actions or to imitate intelligent behavior given a specific goal and learning and adapting behavior by analyzing how the environment is affected by prior actions.”
The National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 sought to define AI, describing it as “a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments,” according to the federal law, which was enacted Jan. 1, 2021.
Route Fifty | What is artificial intelligence? Legislators are still looking for a definition.
The Supremes (the Justices, not the musical group) are going to rule on whether elected officials can block constituents on social media. The impact of the ruling(s), there are two cases before the court, is expected to impact state laws on the matter.
Route Fifty | Should public officials be allowed to block constituents on social media?
Denver’s mayor is putting geographic information systems to use to identify potential public lands that can be used as micro communities for Denver’s homeless. GIS allows for layered data to identify viable locations. Data includes slope, proximity to city services, ecological vulnerabilities and size.
Route Fifty | Cities turn to GIS mapping to find housing for the homeless
New York’s Education Commissioner banned facial recognition software use in schools after multiple years of requests from privacy advocates and a request from the Legislature to study the impact of facial recognition software on students.
Meet Liquidity Mining, which is an innocuous sounding phrase for luring crypto investors into fake mining schemes. An investor is lured into putting their crypto with a decentralized exchange with high returns, and then poof! their crypto disappears. More than 500 fake liquidity websites have been identified this year.
Republican controlled states are introducing voter data systems. Questions are being raised. Is the data reliable? Is the data secure on the systems?
Route Fifty | GOP states announce new voter roll systems. Are they as secure as ERIC?
This fall we should be seeing an Executive Order from President Biden on Artificial Intelligence with a goal of balancing innovation with the protection of Americans. This is not the President’s first A.I. rodeo. In October 2022, his Administration released “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights”, and in a February 2023 this Executive Order instructions were given to federal agencies to consider disparities and equity in A.I.
Bank Info Security | White House Set to Publish AI Executive Order This Fall
60% of Americans in a survey by American Economic Liberties Project think big tech companies have too much market power. The 60% reflects 65% of democrats, 63% of independents & 53% of republicans. 30% of respondents say that “companies “showcase the best of American innovation and capitalism, and are deserving of the profits and market power they have achieved.”
The Hill | Majority in poll says Big Tech has ‘too much power in the market’
What do Americans think about a.i. regulations? According to a Pew Research survey, 67% don’t think government regulation of a.i. will be strong enough. 39% of republicans think a.i. regulations will go too far. 25% of democrats feel the same way.