Law360: State Privacy & AI Watch: 4 Legislative Developments to Know

Robert E. Braun was recently quoted in the Law360 article, “State Privacy & AI Watch: 4 Legislative Developments to Know.”  The article discussed regulations surrounding consumer data and AI models at the state level, with Connecticut enacting new laws in both areas.

Braun told Law360 that the Connecticut law’s focus on hot topics such as the use of AI to make employment-related decisions and companion bots reflects the “classic way” that legislatures tend to tackle complex and socially important issues.

“We commonly legislate by anecdote,” Braun said. “If you think about it, one of the topics we hear the most about on the news when it comes to AI is about chatbots, so when legislatures see those reports, they say that they ought to do something about that.”

Connecticut lawmakers’ decision to focus on certain high-risk and much-discussed uses of AI rather than establish a comprehensive governance regime is also consistent with a trend across the country to keep obligations and protections related to the technology relatively narrow, Braun said.

“Even when these issues are taken on a very narrow basis, they’re still complex,” Braun said. “So, it’s a lot easier to say, here’s one context we can get our arms around where we don’t want AI to take the place of human beings, and we can figure out where the guardrails should be as opposed to establishing a rule that works more broadly.”

Read the full Law360 article here (subscription required).