Senate Committee to Vote on Array of AI Bills

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2024 – A Senate committee on Wednesday is planning to vote on a collection of artificial-intelligence-related bills addressing AI security, private sector standards, education, and privacy.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has put technology near the top of her agenda, including spectrum reform and efforts to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

On Wednesday, Cantwell is hoping her often-divided panel will pass the following bills:

◾ The Future of Artificial Intelligence Innovation Act. Co-sponsored by Cantwell and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., the bill would authorize an Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute to assist the private sector in developing “voluntary standards” for AI.  The institute would conduct research, develop voluntary guidance and best practices for AI, and engage with the private sector to “promote AI innovation and competitiveness.”

◾ The National Science Foundation AI Education Act, co-sponsored by Cantwell and Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kas., would establish a nationwide outreach program to bring AI education to elementary and secondary schools in addition to career and technical education centers;

◾ The CREATE AI Act, sponsored by Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., would authorize the creation of a National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, overseen by the National Science Foundation. The resource would provide free or low-cost “computational and data resources needed to do AI research,” accessible by educational and business institutions;

◾ The TEST AI Act, sponsored by Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., would establish experimental environments, or testbeds, to develop “trustworthy” AI systems. These testbeds would support the development of AI guardrails and evaluate vulnerabilities that could lead to malfunctions or attacks;

◾Artificial Intelligence Research, Innovation, and Accountability Act, sponsored by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., would establish risk management assessment protocols, research methods of authenticating online content, and push for wider AI education;

◾The Artificial Intelligence Public Awareness and Education Campaign Act, sponsored by Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., would promote methods for detecting the digital history of files, address AI enabled fraud, and focus on public outreach with regard to AI applications in daily life and workforce opportunities.

◾ The TAKE IT DOWN Act – which is intended to protect victims of revenge porn – would criminalize the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery (NCII), including AI-generated NCII (or ‘deepfake pornography’), and require social media and similar websites to have in place procedures to remove such content upon notification from a victim. The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.