As a human being, James Maroney is a believer in the potential of artificial intelligence to do good.
鈥淚 do see the potential for AI to transform our lives and improve the way we live," Maroney said. 鈥淭o improve the quality of life, the length of life.鈥�
But as the Democratic state senator of , Maroney is more of a cautious optimist when it comes to AI.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to see AI transform our lives,鈥� he said. 鈥淗owever, we鈥檙e not going to see the full transformation until people feel safe.鈥�
Maroney is deeply concerned about what he says is the unchecked influence of artificial intelligence on people's lives.
鈥渇or screening resumes, for hiring,鈥� he said. 鈥淒epending on the survey you look at 50% to 70% of large .鈥�
Maroney said history has shown the harm that can be done when bias is programmed into an AI decision-making algorithm. He used as an example.
鈥淪ince most [Amazon] technologists were men, it predicted that it wanted to hire a man. If you were a woman, you didn't get recommended for the job,鈥� Maroney said. "We want to make sure that we're preventing those harms before it gets so widely adopted.鈥�
Resistance from the governor
Despite for AI legislation within the 黑料吃瓜网 General Assembly, resistance remains at the highest level of state government. Gov. Ned Lamont has positioned himself as a , having promised last legislative session to veto a bill sponsored primarily by Maroney.
That bill would have imposed restrictions on how companies could deploy AI systems, particularly in decision-making processes that affect individuals. lt passed the state Senate during the last legislative session along party lines, but the House never took it up after Lamont made it clear he would not sign it into law.
Proponents of the bill argue that AI regulation is essential to preventing algorithmic discrimination and ensuring transparency in automated systems. Maroney, who has been a leading advocate for AI accountability in 黑料吃瓜网, has worked to build bipartisan support for legislation that would introduce standards for fairness and oversight.
However, Lamont and his administration have expressed concerns about the difficulty of regulating a rapidly evolving technology, the risk of a patchwork of state regulations complicating compliance for companies operating nationwide, and the risk of overregulation in 黑料吃瓜网 driving businesses out of the state.
鈥淲e鈥檒l see if there is anything else we鈥檝e got to do in terms of guardrails,鈥� 鈥渂ut I also don鈥檛 want to do anything that slows up innovation and makes that smart, young programmer think that maybe it鈥檚 a little safer to do this in Georgia than it is in 黑料吃瓜网.鈥�
CT鈥檚 race to not be first
Despite last year鈥檚 legislative impasse, Maroney sees reason for optimism in 2025. One key factor: 黑料吃瓜网 would no longer be the first state to enact AI regulations.
鈥淚 think last year, one of [Lamont鈥檚] concerns was he didn鈥檛 want to be first,鈥� Maroney said. 鈥淎nd we鈥檝e seen Colorado passed [its] bill.鈥�
, signed in 2023, created a framework for AI governance and Maroney believes it has helped ease some of Lamont鈥檚 concerns about unintended consequences. is currently refining the law鈥檚 definitions and implementation, offering a potential model for 黑料吃瓜网 to follow.
Clearing the path forward
Maroney says he鈥檚 encouraging supporters of AI legislation to take other measures to quell concerns.
鈥淥ne of the concerns is always unintended consequences,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 lot of the issues with the bill have been people who are coming [to us] and they weren鈥檛 intended to be drawn into the bill. So, we鈥檙e just trying to make sure the language is very clear, to give them the certainty that they鈥檙e not intended to be drawn in.鈥�
Maroney also stressed the importance of accommodating small businesses.
鈥淲e're also going to make sure that we鈥檙e working with small businesses and that it鈥檚 something that we can make sure that they can handle,鈥� he said.
After about three years of working on this legislation, Maroney says he鈥檚 optimistic.
鈥淚 think that we鈥檒l get there this year,鈥� Maroney said. 鈥淲ith any big piece of legislation, it takes time.鈥�
