A bill that passed out of the Kentucky Senate last week aims to regulate the state government’s use of artificial intelligence – safeguarding the public sector from irresponsible AI applications and putting some protections in place to prevent the spread of election-related misinformation.
The lawmakers behind Senate Bill 4 – Lexington Republican Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe and London Republican Sen. Brandon Storm – say that it lays the ground for a risk-based AI governance framework to protect Kentuckians and foster innovation in state government. It also attempts to address concerns over AI-generated misinformation in political campaigns and elections.
Bledsoe said the measure will ensure AI is used “transparently, responsibly and with human accountability at every level."
“This is certainly a powerful tool, but it should never become a crutch,” Bledsoe said. “It should allow us to enhance human efficiency and decision making, but it must not replace it.”
Speaking from the Senate floor on Friday, Bledsoe called the bill “a critical first step” in making sure that AI is deployed correctly in Kentucky’s government.
“As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into government operations, we need to establish clear guidelines now to protect Kentuckians into the future because it's going to be a challenge, honestly, to keep up with the technology as it is,” she said.
SB4 lays out a framework that Bledsoe said she hopes can help state agencies use AI efficiently while “maintaining transparency and oversight,” distinguishing between internal systems that help streamline government operations and external systems that can directly impact businesses and Kentuckians.
It mandates that state agencies disclose the use of AI and puts an AI oversight committee in place to develop standards for its use in state government. The measure also requires that each entity using artificial intelligence regularly report on their applications to the Commonwealth Office of Technology.
“It feels like we're living in a moment of exponential technology growth, and I certainly think that's the case,” Bledsoe told the Senate. “Each breakthrough from personal computing to the internet to mobile technology has built upon the last, accelerating how we live, work and interact, and now we're living during a shift as it relates to AI.”
The Lexington senator said the bill would also require the disclosure of AI-generated content in political messaging, and institute legal pathways for candidates targeted by "deceptive" media – “notably synthetic media specifically designed to mislead the public.”
“[It] creates safeguards to ensure AI does not undermine election integrity,” Bledsoe explained.
Verona Republican Sen. Gex Williams was one of three dissenters. Though Williams said he supports much of the bill, he expressed concerns about exceptions laid out in the measure when it comes to political messages.
“My question is almost, ‘Who can't communicate a realistic but false image, audio or video, and have their free speech?’” Williams asked during the floor session. “[Sections 4 and 5 are] patently infringement on the free rights of a number of individuals. If you're running for an office, if you're an X user just doing your thing that they do on X or any other social media thing, it's an infringement on theirs.”
Williams filed a floor substitute version of the bill stripping out those portions. He urged his counterparts in Kentucky’s House of Representatives to fix or remove those portions of the legislation.
The passed the Senate 30-3 last Friday and now goes to the Kentucky House.
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