OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington State Legislature has approved the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Task Force to propose policies for regulating the emerging technology.
SB 5838 will, if signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee, create an executive committee representing the 9 stakeholder groups across the state, including gubernatorial, legislative and educational leaders.
Labor, healthcare, business and LGBTQ+ representatives will also have seats on the committee.
The Task Force will deliver public reports at the end of this year and in 2026.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson hailed the policy’s passage as an important step toward regulators responding to the proliferation of AI.
“AI is becoming a part of our daily lives, and it’s our duty to immediately begin working in a thoughtful way to ensure we protect Washingtonians against this technology’s risks while maximizing its benefits,” Ferguson said.
Governor Jay Inslee signed an executive order on Jan. 30 calling for Washington’s governmental technology services to consider AI regulation plans. Now that a bipartisan policy which could create an AI regulatory framework is before his desk, the Task Force is likely to be signed into law in the coming weeks.
