SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s Pro-Human AI Task Force is a new group made up of seven experts from different backgrounds, with a shared mission to guide AI responsibly in Utah.
One of the people on that task force is Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore (R-Sandy).
“There’s concerns about workforce displacement, workforce rearrangement, education. It’s going to play a role in every aspect of our lives," said Cullimore. "So the idea is that to the extent that we have the ability to regulate this. We want to make sure we do it in a way that’s human first."
The team will focus on six pillars:
- Academic Research and Development
- Industry Innovation
- Learning and Education
- Public Protection
- State Government Deployment
- Workforce Empowerment
“I’ve had a lot of years' experience in my career. I’ve begun to rely on AI and I’ve seen how quickly you can kind of default to that,” Cullimore added. "If we raise up kids in a world where that becomes the default, I think there’s a lot of experiences that they’re going to miss out on, a lot of development they’re going to lose out on. So what does that mean for the future?”
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Some students at the University of Utah also weighed in on the AI discussion.
“I’m kind of worried because it’s very convenient and easy to use, but in the long run, I feel like I’m learning less because I’ve become very reliant on it,” said student Brianne Coombs.
Another student shared concerns about the regulations surrounding AI.
“It’s not really being properly regulated, it’s like there’s all these copyright issues, environmental issues being brought up that I see online,” Asher Lloyd said.
The initiative is supposed to ensure that AI remains understandable, accountable, and adaptable to human needs.
“My field, Biomedical Engineering, is one of the few fields that could actually be helpful, it’s a lot of data analysis…” Coombs added. “What we’re seeing used in the general population is not people trying to study things; it’s people trying to get more convenient ways, trying to get AI to be creative for them. That’s a big problem. From an engineering standpoint, ai is useful, but you don’t want it to make solutions for you.”
