Wisconsin Lawmakers Pass Bills to Regulate Artificial Intelligence

Tuesday, February 20th, 2024 -- 11:00 AM

(AP) Wisconsin lawmakers on Thursday passed bills to regulate artificial intelligence, joining a growing number of states grappling with how to control the technology as November’s elections loom.

The Assembly approved a bipartisan measure to require political candidates and groups to include disclaimers in ads that use AI technology. Violators would face a $1,000 fine.

Voters need disclosures and disclaimers when AI is being used to help them determine the difference between fact and fiction, said the bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Adam Neylon.

He said the measure was an “important first step that gives clarity to voters,” but more action will be needed as the technology evolves. More than half a dozen organizations have registered in support of the proposal, including the League of Women Voters and the state’s newspaper and broadcaster associations.

No groups have registered against the measure. The Assembly also passed on a voice vote a Republican-authored proposal that would make manufacturing and possessing images of child sexual abuse produced with AI technology a felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

Current state law already makes producing and possessing such images a felony with a 25-year maximum sentence, but the statutes don’t address digital representations of children. No groups have registered against the bill.

The Assembly also approved a bill that calls for auditors to review how state agencies use AI. The measure also would give agencies until 2030 to develop a plan to reduce their positions.

By 2026, the agencies would have to report to legislators which positions AI could help make more efficient and report their progress. The bill doesn’t lay out any specific workforce reduction goals and doesn’t explicitly call for replacing state employees with AI.

Republican Rep. Nate Gustafson said Thursday that the goal is to find efficiencies in the face of worker shortages and not replace human beings.

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