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The Washington state capitol in Olympia. (GeekWire File Photo / John Cook)
A pair of proposed laws in Washington state seek to establish ground rules around the creation and consumption of generative artificial intelligence.
The bills follow efforts by other states to increase transparency and disclosure around AI content and tools amid rapid adoption of the powerful technology.
HB 1168 would require companies to document and disclose what data they use to train their generative AI systems. The goal is to help people understand what information was used to create the software. There are exemptions for security, aircraft, military, and defense.
HB 1170 would require companies to help users identify AI-generated content. It would apply to companies that create AI systems with more than 1 million monthly users in Washington state. The proposal exempts video games, TV, streaming, movies, or interactive experiences.
The bills are similar to two laws passed last year in California that also focus on training data transparency and AI detection tools, said Barb Rhoads-Weaver, an attorney with Focal Law who specializes in data protection, compliance, and privacy issues.
Rhoads-Weaver said there were unaddressed concerns with California’s bills that also apply to the proposed laws in Washington, such as a lack of exemptions that could allow developers to withhold information subject to trade secrets or intellectual property protections.
Ian Crosby, a Seattle-based attorney who specializes in AI law, said the Washington state proposals don’t appear to go far enough in helping rights holders determine if their copyrighted works were used to train AI models.
“If model builders truly believe that what they are doing is fair use, they ought to be required to have the courage of their convictions and clearly disclose the works they have used to train,” he said.
The debate over AI models and copyright infringement has led to several high-profile lawsuits pitting AI software firms against individuals and companies, including an ongoing case involving OpenAI, The New York Times and Microsoft.
Reps. Cindy Ryu (D); Clyde Shavers (D); Jamila Taylor (D); and Mary Fosse (D) are sponsoring both bills.
Reps. Ryu and Shavers signed an open letter in December from the Multistate AI Policymaker Working Group encouraging action on AI legislation.
The state passed a deepfake porn bill last year. A handful of other AI-related bills did not pass during last year’s session.
Last year Washington established an Artificial Intelligence Task Force. Shavers is a member of the group. We reached out to the task force to see if the proposed bills were previously discussed.
