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Hickenlooper AI Bill & Six Other Hick Bills Pass Senate Committee, All Bipartisan 

Jul 31, 2024

Seven of Hickenlooper’s bills now go to a full Senate vote

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, celebrated committee passage of seven of his bipartisan pieces of legislation, including his VET AI Act. All seven bills now head to the Senate floor for a full vote.

“AI has enormous potential to boost American innovation. But without sensible guardrails or standards, it’s the Wild West out there,” said Hickenlooper. “Passing bipartisan AI legislation will significantly benefit American consumers, workers, and businesses.”

Hickenlooper led and cosponsored several artificial intelligence (AI) related bills that passed out of the Commerce Committee today, including his bipartisan Validation and Evaluation for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (VET AI) Act. Hickenlooper’s VET AI Act directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to work with federal agencies and stakeholders across industry, academia, and civil society to develop detailed specifications, guidelines, and recommendations for third-party evaluators to work with AI companies to provide robust independent external assurance and verification of how their AI systems are developed and tested.

Hickenlooper cosponsors four other bipartisan AI-related bills that passed out of the Commerce Committee today that will work to stop AI deepfakes and increase the transparency and safety of AI systems for American consumers: 

  • TAKE IT DOWN Act: criminalizes the publication of non-consensual, intimate imagery (NCII), including AI-generated “deepfake pornography”, on social media and other online sites, and requires social media companies to have procedures to remove content upon notification from a victim.
  • Future of AI Innovation Act: authorizes the U.S. AI Safety Institute to take steps to accelerate groundbreaking AI innovation, develop governance standards, and promote partnerships between government, business, and  academia to advance AI research.
  • AI Research Innovation and Accountability (ARIA) Act: establishes a framework to bolster innovation while bringing greater transparency, accountability, and security to the development and operation of the highest-impact applications of AI.
  • Promoting U.S. Leadership in Standards Act of 2024: aims to improve visibility into standards setting related to AI and emerging technologies and increase U.S. participation in these critical activities.

Hickenlooper’s NET Act, which strengthens our broadband supply chains to ensure an on-time rollout of federal broadband programs, and Hickenlooper’s American Music Tourism Act, which supports and increases music tourism to attract domestic and international visitors to music venues nationwide, also passed out of the Commerce Committee today.

All seven bills now head to the Senate floor for a full vote. For full video of the hearing, click HERE.

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