US Rules for AI Follow Privacy's State Patchwork Model, Lawyer Says
States are passing a large variety of laws to regulate AI, with some, like Colorado, taking a comprehensive approach and others, like California, targeting specific issues such as discrimination and employment, Vedder Price attorney Michael Kurzer observed Thursday on a panel at the Risk Digital Global virtual conference. Also, the lawyer said he sees “strong overlap between regulation of privacy and the issues that we're focused on now with AI.”
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At the same time, it seems unlikely the federal government will pass a national AI law, Kurzer said. On the contrary, President Donald Trump appears to want to have no regulation at all, said Kurzer. Trump said Monday he will issue an order blocking state AI regulation through national standards (see 2512080056).
“What we're left with is just all the states taking their own steps [and] we may end up with something along the lines of what we have [with] data privacy and security, where” one state like Colorado or California “leads the way,” said Kurzer.
On the prospects of a national AI law, Chief Privacy Officer Chris Pahl of California’s Santa Clara County, said he’d “like to think we would have had a federal privacy law by now, but we haven't.” He added that it’s going to be “very interesting” to find out the “legality” of Trump's expected executive order to block state AI laws.
Technology usually moves faster than the government, noted Kurzer. “I don't know that we can regulate our way out of what's going on here with AI. But I do think that we can educate people.”
Pahl agreed education is important. “I would reframe it as upskilling,” he said, and it’s necessary for employees and users alike.