WA is one step closer to an AI Task Force
With the Attorney General in full control, what could possibly go wrong?
We started out this session with a pair of bills - HB 1934, prime sponsored by a Republican and SB 5838, prime sponsored by a democrat. They are “companion” bills, meaning they are the same bill in opposite chambers. Both of these bills have had substantial bipartisan support. We have been extremely concerned with these bills since they dropped in December. SB 5838 is the bill that survived cutoff and is now moving forward in the House. It had a hearing today in the Consumer Protection & Business Committee at 1:30PM.
One of our greatest concerns with this task force being controlled and overseen by the very partisan Attorney General’s office. In October a judge ruled that the AG’s office had abused their power and authority in a case against Value Village, including violating their First Amendment rights.
Through a public records request by a private citizen, we’ve learned that the Secretary of State is using LogicallyAI, which they claim is the only tech company to provide “fact checking”, to identify citizens who are posting on social media with views and perspectives that do not align with the majority party. In the report is a personal post on X made by CLW Founder, Julie Barrett and there are posts in the report that were made by people on our Legislative Action Team as well as other “friends.” We can’t help but wonder if the AI Task Force would be used to target citizens. There is nothing in the bill that states otherwise.
But that’s not all. Let’s get into the more technical aspects of what makes this a very concerning bill. *Provided by Teo Morca
1. To level set understanding, Artificial Intelligence is the broader concept of enabling a machine to act like a human; Machine Learning is an application of AI that allows machines to extract knowledge from data and learn from it autonomously.
2. Governance of AI generally, and ML more specifically, should not be owned by politically partisan agencies. The Washington State Office of the Attorney General is a powerful, radically partisan agency.
3. What is the danger of a partisan authority like our AG’s office governing the implementation of AI and ML in Washington, you ask? Well, it is exactly the type of bias that renders a fine-tuned machine learning model into a weapon. I am not convinced that the intent is to purge bias; I believe that our AG is fine with bias if it serves the desired narrative.
4. We need to understand very clearly that, as with organic human learning, machines learn in part through profiling. Without profiling, a machine starts over again from scratch every interaction, without any benefit of prior learning.
5. Because of this, and because the algorithms improve with more data, we MUST be prepared for AI to become biased over time based on new learnings and experiences, just as humans do. For example, if 4 out of 5 engagements with a penguin result in the penguin attacking you, and only 1 out of 5 engagements with a bear result in the bear attacking you, you will naturally develop bias concerning bears and penguins. This is still a bias but it is not inaccurate, or something that needs to be somehow modified to correct. The reality simply is the reality whether it was the outcome you hoped for. This is how machines and humans learn. I am deeply concerned about the AG’s office intending to attempt to somehow modify these realities by adding in coefficients to force a desired social narrative.
6. When we begin to modify algorithms that are already well-established with new coefficients or weights to manipulate outputs, we break things.
7. The AG's office should not be granted total authority to establish a task force to govern AI and ML work. The AG is responsible for enforcing laws, protecting the public interest, and providing legal advice to state agencies and legislatures. It is not equipped with the necessary expertise to oversee the complex and dynamic field of AI and ML, which requires interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, and experimentation.
8. The AG’s office has conflicts of interest and biases that could compromise the fairness, transparency, and accountability of AI and ML governance. For example, the state attorney general's office may the task force and AI and ML tools for its own purposes, such as criminal investigations, prosecutions, litigation, or drafting laws that infringe on the rights of the people, which raise ethical and legal issues. AG's office also favors certain stakeholders, industries, or agendas over others, which will undermine the diversity, inclusivity, and representativeness of AI and ML governance.
9. The AG's office will likely impose regulations or restrictions on AI and ML work that stifle creativity, competitiveness, and productivity. For example, the state attorney general's office may require burdensome compliance, reporting, or auditing procedures, which could increase the costs and risks of AI and ML development and deployment. Certain types of AI and ML applications could also be restricted, which could hinder potential benefits and opportunities of AI and ML for the state and society.
10. The AG's office should NOT be the sole authority to govern AI and ML work in the state. Instead, a more suitable and effective approach would be to establish a multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral, and multi-disciplinary body that statutorily guarantees absolutely equal political and ideological representation at ALL times (e.g., the same numbers of contributors from the various political parties, REGARDLESS of political majority or minority on the whole), that can balance the interests, needs, and values of all parties involved in or affected by AI and ML work in the state.
TAKE ACTION
It’s not too late for you to take action. The committee will meet tomorrow at 1:30PM to vote on this bill. If it passes out of committee, it will proceed to a full floor vote.
Sample email:
Please do not pass the AI Task Force bills SB 5838. These bills give sole authority and power to the Attorney General and do not provide representation of all Washington citizens, only those that the AG deems important. If all groups of people cannot have a seat at the table, then this task force should not be making policy recommendations that impact all Washington citizens. Furthermore, the state government has already shown that it has overstepped its authority by using LogicallyAI to monitor the social media posts of the free citizens of Washington state. I do not believe this task force would be taxpayer money well spent and I ask you to vote NO on SB 5838.
Copy/Paste the following emails:
Stephanie.McClintock@leg.wa.gov
sharon.tomiko.santos@leg.wa.gov
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