by Dave Williams | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia lawmakers might or might not develop laws this summer time and fall to set up state requirements for regulating rising synthetic intelligence (AI) expertise.
However one certainty that grew to become clear from the inaugural listening to of a state Senate examine committee late final month is that AI will dramatically affect a large range of authorities coverage areas, from financial improvement to well being care, schooling, public security and transportation.
“It’s going to affect and alter issues like by no means earlier than,” stated Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, chairman of the Senate Examine Committee on Artificial Growth.
One public coverage space already being affected by AI is elections. So-called “deep fakes” already are cropping up in political advertisements, which digitally alter a candidate’s bodily look or voice to say or do one thing the precise particular person didn’t say or do.
With deep fakes in political promoting among the many early manifestations of AI, some state lawmakers have made the observe the main focus of the Normal Meeting’s first try to rein within the trade.
A invoice launched within the Georgia Home of Representatives this 12 months known as for criminalizing the use of deep fakes in political advertisements. Home Invoice 986 overwhelmingly cleared the Home solely to fizzle within the state Senate.
The results AI expertise is predicted to have on public coverage already are beginning to grow to be evident. Within the public security enviornment, AI is already succesful to selecting up 911 calls and dispatching responders, Albers stated.
“No one will ever be on maintain and never have a solution instantly,” he stated.
Likewise, the massive function AI will play in transportation is being demonstrated initially by the event of autonomous automobiles, drone deliveries, and expertise that enables cities to handle the circulation of site visitors. Finally, AI will drive transportation planners’ choices on the place to widen highways or construct bridges.
Albers stated AI additionally will revolutionize schooling.
“We’ve been educating the identical means for 85 years,” he stated. “The world has modified eight time over throughout that point.”
In well being care, the information consolidation capabilities of AI might assist researchers treatment most cancers, Albers stated.
Whereas a lot of the Normal Meeting’s consideration on AI is concentrated on its public coverage purposes, the legislature additionally might actively encourage the personal sector with incentives to foster use of the expertise as an financial improvement device.
“We’ve an actual alternative to create an enormous quantity of (enterprise) startups on this state,” stated Pascal Van Hentenryck, a professor at Georgia Tech, director of Tech-AI, the college’s AI hub, and a member of the examine committee.
Albers stated regardless of the Normal Meeting does in the way in which of regulating AI additionally should have an fairness element.
“We don’t need to exclude individuals on this,” he stated. ‘We wish to defeat the digital divide.”
Albers stated the examine committee will maintain seven or eight hearings this summer time and fall, together with some away from the Capitol. One of these classes will likely be held in Augusta, dwelling to the Georgia Cyber Innovation & Coaching Heart.
The committee is due to launch suggestions for proposed laws by Dec. 1. If no laws is forthcoming, the panel will file a report to the total Senate.