A coalition of Connecticut AI experts supports a bill that would regulate the industry that has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
The bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-AR) would establish enforceable penalties against big tech companies whose AI products exploit personal data or use copyrighted material without permission.
“Innovation without accountability is not progress. It’s recklessness,” said Vahid Behzadan, the co-founder of the Connecticut AI Alliance, at a new briefing with Blumenthal outside the state Capitol in Hartford on Tuesday.
He said the alliance supports the U.S. Senate bill because it would hold AI companies accountable.
“When individuals have no recourse if their work is appropriated without consent, it creates an imbalance that undermines the very creative economy that makes AI data training valuable in the first place,” Behzadan said.
“I believe this will reset the incentives, where it will allow for more fair competition rather than a situation where only the largest companies with the largest amount of resources can actually have control in this space,” said Rock Vitale, the founder of Easie, a company that helps other companies use AI to grow their businesses
State regulation of AI failed to win approval in the Connecticut General Assembly after Gov. Ned Lamont and several lawmakers argued that federal regulation would be more appropriate.
