Association members are invited to review the Interim Report from the Washington State Attorney General’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Task Force, where WR is represented by Policy and Government Affairs Director, Crystal Leatherman.
This Interim Report contains the Task Force’s findings and recommendations for specific actions the legislature should consider regarding the development, deployment, and use of AI technology in Washington state. To develop its findings and recommendations, the Task Force formed eight subcommittees to study the impact of AI in specific domains such as education, labor, public safety, healthcare, and consumer protection. Each of the recommendations developed by the subcommittees were reviewed and approved by the Task Force as a whole. Below is a brief summary of the recommendations.
Adopt NIST Ethical AI Principles Adopt the principles for ethical and trustworthy AI published by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) in January 2023 as the guiding policy framework for AI development, deployment, and use in Washington.
Improve Transparency in AI Development Require AI developers to make information publicly available that describes the provenance, quality, quantity and diversity of datasets used for training AI models and require AI developers to provide explanations of how training data is processed to mitigate errors and biases during AI model development.
Promote Responsible AI Governance Require that developers and deployers of high-risk AI systems (those that have the potential to significantly impact people’s lives, health, safety, or fundamental rights) implement AI governance frameworks to minimize harm and publicly disclose their risk management strategies and practices. Evaluate high-risk AI uses to determine if further safeguards, including prohibitions on certain uses, are necessary.
Invest in K-12 STEM and Higher Education Increase investments to improve K-12 education and K-12 STEM education, support educators and students to integrate AI tools, promote professional development opportunities for educators and expand access to broadband through state, private, federal, or other philanthropic funding sources.
Improve Transparency and Accountability in Healthcare Prior Authorization Require that any decision to deny, delay or modify health services based on medical necessity be made only by qualified clinicians.
Require that any AI systems used to facilitate processing of prior authorization requests apply the same clinical criteria as licensed health care professionals and require that such AI systems be subject to assessments and audits.
Develop Guidelines for AI in the Workplace Create an independent, multi-stakeholder advisory group made up of workers, unions, employers, business and community associations, government agencies, and other stakeholders to establish guiding principles for the use of AI in the workplace.
Disclose Use of AI by Law Enforcement Require law enforcement agencies in Washington state to publicly disclose the use of AI technologies.
Require officers to attest that AI-assisted or AI-generated reports have been reviewed for accuracy, mitigating risks of false information.
Establish Grant Program for AI Innovation Establish a grant program utilizing public and private funding for small businesses to promote AI innovation that serves the public interest.
Read the full Washington State Artificial Intelligence Task Force Interim Report
