CFA led a coalition of Access Humboldt, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and TechEquity urging the leadership of the legislature to oppose SB1249, an industry-friendly AI bill that would fail to address the very real harms of AI. Instead of tackling these harms and empowering workers and consumers, S.B. 1249 ignores these harms and instead allocates taxpayer money to and establishes regulatory safe spaces for tech companies.
The bill’s few mentions of discrimination do not provide Connecticut residents with any additional protections. Instead, the bill merely reiterates the point that the use of AI is not a defense to a discrimination claim, which has never been in doubt. The bill relieves developers of AI tools—often the party best poised to disclose key information and do much-needed assessments—of nearly any responsibility, shifting responsibility to the Connecticut-based companies using the tools instead.