KY lawmakers wrap up their first study on artificial intelligence and say this won’t be the last Kentucky Lantern

At the task force’s final meeting before the Legislature convenes in January, Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Veron, co-chair of the task force, predicted the group would be “the first of many task forces to study artificial intelligence” and lawmakers will continue to have conversations about regulating AI. Bray said the recommendations will be sent to the Legislative Research Commission (LRC).

The task force heard from them in its interim meetings AI expertsespecially those who study or work in state governments, as well as government officials Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams. Adams warned that AI has “potentially a significant impact” on elections and urged lawmakers in October to consider making impersonating an election official a crime.

The task force’s eleven recommendations are:

• Consider legislation that would provide policy standards for the use of AI by the state of Kentucky, including a framework for decision-making about ethical AI use, the business cases for use, the approval process for use, disclosures in use, mitigating third party risks. -party risks when using and ensuring the data privacy of Kentucky residents.
• Urge the federal government to take immediate action on AI regulation.
• Direct staff of the Legislative Research Committee to provide a definition of artificial intelligence for legislative purposes in Kentucky.
• Consider legislation that would promote and protect the integrity of Kentucky’s elections by encouraging the responsible use of AI in connection with elections and the electoral process.
• Encourage the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), in partnership with the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), to conduct a study on how educational opportunities and efforts related to AI offered by employers can translate into postsecondary educational achievement and college degrees.
• Encourage the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General to examine current healthcare-related regulations to determine whether there are sufficient guidelines to protect patients from potential HIPAA violations.
• Encourage the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General to review laws regarding individual similarity and to continuously collaborate with the General Assembly on all issues arising from AI developments.
• Consider authorizing a one-time allocation of funds to centers that can be used by Kentucky institutions to promote responsible research, developments, and advancements in AI.
• Consider legislation that would promote the responsible use of AI by requiring certain disclosures when communicating with AI chatbots.
• Encourage all infrastructure providers to develop a long-term AI governance model that ensures data integrity, protects proprietary and confidential information, ensures accountability for acceptable use of AI products, and creates a framework for best practices that ensures ethical and teaches moral guidelines.
• Encourage the General Assembly to continue its support of policies that ensure that utilities in the State of Kentucky have the adequate generation and infrastructure necessary to meet the Commonwealth’s increasing energy needs.

During the discussion of the recommendations, Rep. Pamela Stevenson, D-Louisville, asked about AI and crime. She noted that experts told the task force that they often cannot tell whether something is created by AI or not. “And the only solution they offered was ‘we say on our products that they are AI-generated,’ but the crooks don’t do that.”

Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, R-Lexington, said “individual similarity” was a broad term used intentionally in the recommendations regarding the attorney general’s office. She predicted that legal challenges, not just legislation, will have an impact in this area; therefore, it makes sense to wait for the court’s decisions rather than “trying to legislate first.”

Bledsoe and Democratic Caucus Chairman Senator Reggie Thomas, also of Lexington and a member of the task force, submitted a bill during the 2024 legislative session aimed at limiting the use of “deep fakes,” or deceptive AI, to influence elections in Kentucky. It died in the House after receiving Senate approval.