November 23, 2024
AI, States’ Rights, and My Visit to WallBuilders
By: ID Senator Tammy Nichols
Artificial intelligence is advancing at a pace few could have predicted, even just a few years ago. It’s transforming industries, reshaping communication, and raising serious questions about privacy, ethics, and the future of human interaction. That’s why I was honored to be invited to speak on an AI panel at the WallBuilders Legislative Conference in Texas last week, where lawmakers and experts gathered to discuss the challenges and opportunities ahead.
What many people don’t realize is that Idaho has been ahead of the curve. In 2022, I carried HB 720, making Idaho one of the first states in the nation to pass personhood related legislation addressing artificial intelligence. Since then, a handful of other states have followed our lead, so much so that our work was highlighted at the WallBuilders summit as a model for national adoption.
During the conference, I joined a teaser panel and later a breakout session where we dug into state level AI policies, emerging ideas, and the broader landscape of machine intelligence. We also discussed something many Americans haven’t heard much about yet: the next stages beyond AI, AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and ASI (Artificial Superintelligence). These advanced forms of intelligence raise even deeper questions about autonomy, safety, and how far technology should go.
One statistic that struck everyone in the room: human to human interaction has already decreased by 70% due to the influence and integration of AI. And that trend is expected to continue. As these tools become more embedded in daily life, it becomes even more critical that people, not machines, stay at the center of our society.
AI is both fascinating and frightening. It holds tremendous potential, but also tremendous power. That’s why I firmly believe it must be handled as what it truly is: an alien tool, something outside the natural human experience, and carefully contained and governed by the states to protect our citizens and our freedoms.
And Idaho is not slowing down. This next legislative session, I will be bringing forward another bill to add further protections for individuals from AI, especially as it becomes more capable, intrusive, and harder to distinguish from humans. As technology evolves, our laws must evolve with it to safeguard privacy, autonomy, and human dignity.
We must stay vigilant, deliberate, and grounded in constitutional principles as we move into this new technological frontier. Idaho will continue to lead, and I look forward to helping shape policies that ensure innovation never comes at the expense of humanity.
