A conference committee report for an AI bill was unanimously approved by the Senate Thursday, clearing Senate Bill 150 to head to the governor.
If signed into law, SB 150, authored by Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, Sen. Brian Buchanan, R-Lebanon, and Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, will create a task force to study and assess the use of artificial intelligence technology by state agencies.
As AI use has become more prevalent, concerns about cybersecurity have grown. For example, WDRB reported that "more than 1.3 million people living in Indiana had personal information like Social Security numbers and card information exposed to hackers in 2021.” According to cybersecurity company Malwarebytes, “The risks of artificial intelligence to cyber security are expected to increase rapidly with AI tools becoming cheaper and more accessible. … For example, a hacker who breaches an AI system could access different kinds of sensitive information.”
The conference committee report for SB 150 was first unanimously approved by the House on Thursday. It then went to the Senate Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee and was approved unanimously again before reaching the Senate.
A conference committee is formed when one chamber does not approve the amendments to a bill made by the other chamber. Lawmakers on both sides come together to find a compromise and issue a report.
Rep. Matt Lehman, R-Berne, said this bill includes three parts: the creation of a task force, the setting of infrastructure standards and the compiling of AI inventory.
In the Senate session Thursday, Brown discussed changes that SB 150 makes to ensure the state has control over its software licensing. She thanked Sen. David Vinzant, D-Hobart, for moving the task force start date so it’s effective immediately. The rest of the bill doesn’t take effect until July 1, 2025.
“The original bill started with respect to schools and good policies in terms of cybersecurity and establishing a risk fund, so hopefully we can look at that next year,” Brown said.
SB 150 now heads to the governor. He has seven days to sign, veto or let it go into law without signing.