Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be at once the greatest and worst invention ever. It’s the worst part that has Alabama lawmakers concerned. It was the focus of the Commission on Artificial Intelligence and Children’s Internet Safety meeting in Montgomery Wednesday.
Alabama House Joint Resolution 51eastablished the commission during the spring session of the legislature with a stated concern about its impact on children. “…artificial intelligence (AI), social media, and the Internet are widely used by children with minimal safeguards in place; and the rapid advancement of AI technology is changing how children learn and develop socially; and AI continues to be deployed in new capacities across social media and the Internet; and there are valid concerns about potential misuse or unintended consequences of children’s unfettered access to AI, social media, and the Internet, especially without the development and implementation of safeguards to protect children.”
The commission’s goal is develop future legislation to effectively regulate AI but ensure the provisions could stand strong in a potential courtroom.
State Senator Garland Gudger believes it is up to the states to protect children, “I think it’s going to have to be up to the states because it’s very evident that the federal guidelines are not going to change as fast as the states can change,” he told committee members.
“I’m worried that if we wait on the federal government that there’s going to be a different era of technology before they pass something,” Gudger added.
Various experts in AI addressed the commission with concerns over how children use AI as if they are having a conversation and with another person and can be persuaded by it. University of Alabama assistant professor of advertising and public relations, Dr. Nancy Brinson, told the hearing, “We talk about persuasive, it’s having a conversation with you, it’s not just saying something and leaving it alone, it’s trying to continue to convince you to do something.”
Other testimony highlighted how AI learns about the person using it. Dr. Brinson addressed that concern in her testimony, “This is the power of predictive analytics, and it just pulls so much data about you based on your interactions and your behaviors that it can pretty much predict what your behaviors are going to be,” said Dr. Brinson.
UA Law Professor Yonathan Arbel addressed the complexity of establishing controls, “No longer are you saying ‘Don’t take candy from the stranger’ because the candy from the stranger has now moved to another location, and they’re operating online.”
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