The AI Task Force of the General Assembly, formed in 2023, has been meeting monthly during this year’s interim session. They have learned quite a bit about AI, including its use in government as well as its potential risks.
At a recent meeting, the task force created a list of ten recommendations for the legislature to consider in its 2026 session.
Senator Gex Williams proposed that the work of the task force be subsumed into the standing Natural Resources & Energy Committees in both chambers. Senator Reginald Thomas emphasized protecting minors from being exploited by AI technology. He also said the legislature will need to make sure Kentucky residents don’t wind up paying more for their electricity due to new AI data centers.
Here are the ten recommendations that came out of the task force:
- Consider legislative changes to the Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act to strengthen consumer protections as data collection processes change with the evolution of AI technology.
- Consider changes to the AI acceptable use policy for all state agencies.
- Consider legislative policies to promote collaboration between service providers, state agencies, and state research universities for the shared use and study of Medicaid data sets for how Kentucky families can prevent certain diseases resulting in lowering health care costs to Medicaid.
- Acknowledge that AI technology may be harmful to minors and consider legislative polices for the protection of minors on social media platforms.
- Acknowledge that AI may impact careers regulated by professional standards, and consider legislative polices in coordination with professional standards boards to discuss when and how AI should be used within their profession.
- Create or facilitate the creation of an AI work group to serve as a collaborative platform to bring together state and local governments, educational institutions, healthcare providers, industry, and citizens to identify needs, collect data, develop artificial intelligence solutions, foster innovation and competitiveness, promote artificial intelligence literacy, and ensure trusted artificial intelligence development and governance for Kentucky.
- Incorporate AI development and governance into existing standing committees' jurisdiction.
- Consider legislative policies for the location of data centers in Kentucky including minimum requirements for location and collaboration among local, state, and private entities.
- Consider legislative polices for data centers' need for large amounts of water and power requiring more baseload power to ensure grid sufficiency, including consultation with the Public Service Commission.
- Encourage Kentucky's federal delegation to work on national policies for AI as it impacts individual Kentuckian's:
- name, image, and likeness property rights;
- consumer protection;
- data protection from retail companies and data-driven pricing; and
- small business economic issues from a patchwork of state laws.
--30--
Comments
