AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Texas lawmaker proposed a bill that would regulate artificial intelligence in the state.
State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) filed House Bill 1709 for the upcoming legislative session.
According to a press release, the Texas Responsible Artificial Intelligence Governance Act (TRAIGA) would “establish a comprehensive framework for the ethical development, deployment, and oversight of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies within Texas.”
Proposals in the bill include:
- Requiring companies to disclosure whether they are using AI
- Strengthening safeguards to protect personal data used in AI systems
- Promote education and training for the AI-driven economy
- Establishing guidelines to prevent bias, discrimination and misuse of AI technologies
“If you just let AI run un-tethered, it does become biased, because information that it scans is biased, and so that’s why it’s really important to understand, how is it trained? What is it trained with?” said Matt Rosen, CEO and Founder of Allata.
Allata is a technology consulting firm that helps automate companies through AI.
“Organizations are coming to us because they’re trying to figure out, what should we do with it? How should we use it? How do we protect our data?”
Matt Rosen, Allata CEO and Founder
When it comes to regulating AI, Rosen said there is not much out there on the federal level.
“Now it’s being left to the states, but you have to think, in the next few years, there’s going to be legislation at both levels, and then are they going to overlap?” Rosen said. “I think regulations should be maybe a little more relaxed than strict, given that we’re still really as a civilization, figuring out how this stuff actually works.”
Rosen called it a “cautious balance” the Texas Legislature is going to have to walk.
Along with regulations, Rosen put an emphasis on education and training for AI as well.
“It’s better to understand it, not be scared of it, but embrace it and know its positives and negatives,” Rosen said.
TRAIGA also focused on creating protections from censorship by making sure AI systems used for content moderation are, “transparent, unbiased, and accountable, safeguarding free speech.”
“HB 1709 reflects extensive consultation with members of the public, industry leaders, academics, and advocacy groups,” Capriglione said. “By balancing innovation with public interest, we aim to create a blueprint for responsible AI use that other states and nations can follow.”
For those in the testing phase of their AI programs, the bill creates an “Artificial Intelligence Regulatory Sandbox Program” that allows for temporary exemptions from certain regulatory requirements during that time.