The Connecticut Senate has voted to advance a controversial bill to have the state regulate the use of artificial intelligence.
The bill is focused on transparency and accountability for the use of AI. It is needed because the Republican-controlled Congress has yet to act on federal regulations, said state Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), the Senate chair of the General Law Committee and sponsor of the bill.
“In the proposed (federal) budget, they are considering banning states from doing any AI regulations for the next 10 years. And so, real harms are happening and we know we need to do something,” he said.
He said the bill seeks to promote the responsible use of AI.
“AI has the potential to increase the wealth gap by more than $43 billion a year. We want to ensure in Connecticut that we are not leaving behind people who were left behind in previous technology revolutions,” Maroney said.
The bill also calls for the training of the state’s workforce on how to use AI, and it criminalizes non-consensual intimate images and deep-fake pornography.
It passed 26-9 along party lines, with the minority Republicans voting against it, on Wednesday.
The bill now goes to the House for action.
That’s where a similar bill died last year after Gov. Ned Lamont opposed it. He complained it was not business-friendly.
