Utah Opens AI Policy Office and Learning Lab

Utah on Monday launched its Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy and a new educational lab dedicated to advancing AI policy for businesses, consumers and government.

The office’s new lab will assess areas where improved rules can help AI companies overcome the regulatory burdens associated with using AI while also protecting the public from potential harm, according to an announcement from the Utah Department of Commerce. The office’s division director, Zach Boyd, said at a launch event in Salt Lake City on Monday that one way to achieve those goals will be to provide companies with “regulatory relief agreements,” KUER reports.

(The new political office, housed in the state Department of Commerce, was created in a law signed in March by Gov. Spencer Cox. Although the office began operating in May, Monday was its official public opening.)

Companies can apply for contracts that could help them overcome potentially outdated prohibitions that could stifle AI innovation, such as reducing fines for violations, even if only temporarily. The law that created the office gave it the authority to issue contracts, which Boyd said would allow the office to collect preliminary data on how generative AI is being used.

Utah’s new law also places restrictions on the use of AI, such as requiring individuals and companies to disclose when AI-powered chatbots are used in place of humans, and excluding “data generated by computer algorithms or statistical models” from the legal definition of “personal information” under the state’s data privacy law.

The announcement goes on to say that the learning lab will also work with companies, “stakeholders” and AI experts to test policy ideas and make recommendations to the legislature.

Cox appeared at Monday’s launch event, where he noted that if the lab comes up with recommendations that show the need for more comprehensive AI legislation, state lawmakers could hold a special session.

“I’m proud of the Utah Way, which encourages us to do this, that business and government can work together in a way that helps everyone and raises the profile of our state and our power,” Cox said.