Florida Legislature moving in different directions on AI regulations
HOLDER, Fla. - The state Senate is now on the board with two bills that are intended to protect Floridians from the worst consequences of the latest computer technology.
But, the house has not yet picked up the ball, meaning the end of the session could come without a law headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk.
RELATED: Citrus County residents, commissioners in battle over potential data center in Holder
Local perspective:
Plans for a data center on the rolling hills of Holder in Citrus County are being fought by some residents, who want the land to stay pure, and the natural resources, to stay theirs.
"We've had this solitude and peace and serenity here for quite a while," said Cora Engstrom of Holder. "Previously. And so they're going to disrupt all of that."
The backstory:
The state senate has passed two bills, one that requires them to pay for their own electricity and to limit how much water they can use, which is SB 484. The other, a so-called "AI Bill of Rights," insists chatbots tell users they're not human, that AI groups not sell a user's image or data, and that kids only use it with a parent's permission, which is SB 482.
READ: Boycott movement against ChatGPT grows amid OpenAI's Pentagon deal
"We don't want to stop the use of AI," said State Sen. Gayle Harrell (R-Stuart). "It can be very, very powerful. I've seen it extremely powerful. But, we also need to protect our children."
Those two bills have passed the state senate with near unanimous support.
Dig deeper:
But things are slower in the house. The bill that would reign in the public costs for water and sewer has gotten through two committees.
The AI Bill of Rights, though, has not seen any action since January.
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"I don't know if anything needs to be done at this point until we know further what the dynamics going to be with AI, how it's going to be used and what the potential harms actually are," said State Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola).
The house is following the lead of President Donald Trump, who wants federal as opposed to state regulation. But, the governor is urging action, pointing to cases where teenagers have killed themselves after chatting with bots.
"Things are happening very quickly and the earth is moving underneath the feet of the American people," said DeSantis.
What's next:
Experts like USF professor Jill Schiefelbein said the pushing and pulling among officials is expected, because of how much the economy may soon depend on AI, how many jobs it can kill or create and how much is yet to be discovered when it comes to what AI can and can't do.
The potential data center in Citrus County could create 800 jobs.
"We don't have a true understanding of just how much data processing is actually needed and going to be needed," said Schiefelbein. "This is scaling rapidly."
The Source: The information in this story includes a house committee hearing on AI legislation, interviews with Cora Engstom, State Rep. Alex Andrade, Dr. Jill Schiefelbein, a roundtable discussion held by Gov. DeSantis and documents filed with Citrus County.