AI industry challenges discussed by Wisconsin legislative committee

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin lawmakers, technology experts and industry leaders met Wednesday to discuss how the state can encourage artificial intelligence innovation and workforce adaption, while still having legal guardrails to protect consumer privacy.

In the first meeting of Wisconsin’s Legislative Council Study Committee on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence, the bipartisan group spent more than two hours hashing out how regulatory legislation should deal with AI.

Matthew Friedel, co-founder of the Disruptive Technologies Laboratory at University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin, began with a presentation explaining AI’s capabilities and highlighting what the future workforce will look like.

“If you look at the research, it’s actually very clear. About 40 to 50% of jobs are going to be what is called ‘disrupted.’ That means the type of work that people are going to do is going to change over time,” Friedel said, pointing to historical examples of jobs previously done by humans that are now done by technology, such as ice-cutting. “The question is, are we going to be ahead of that curve to identify what are the skills necessary for the future workforce.”

Friedel said part of that evolution will involve combining what computers do well, such as speed and accuracy, with what humans do better, such as creativity and leadership.

Rather than removing jobs, AI will spur reshape existing jobs and likely create new ones, Friedel said, citing the Biden administration’s recent tech hub investment in Wisconsin.

“This is not about trying to get to an efficiency where we don’t need humans. It’s trying to stay in business. It’s trying to maintain an economy in Wisconsin; it’s trying to keep people employed,” he told the committee. “What we think about here is AI for industry…AI, machine learning, etcetera is really the next step in that.”

The overall goal is to spur economic development and technology innovation in Wisconsin. The question is to protect consumer privacy in the process. Waukesha County Technical College President Rich Barnhouse said ensuring the safe and ethical use of AI technology might involve curtailing innovation.

The committee will meet next in August to discuss how legislation could combat more sinister abuses of AI, such as disinformation and unethical image generation.