Why is Colorado reviewing its AI Act?

This week, the Colorado state legislature will meet for a special session, called by Gov. Jared Polis, to discuss, revise, and potentially delay the Colorado AI Act. Tyler Thompson, a partner at Reed Smith, joins StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast to say he’s worried about the law’s effectiveness, especially with the federal government, after the release of its  AI Action Plan, threatening to withhold funding for states with burdensome AI regulations. He said the upcoming special session, starting Thursday, is expected to address these issues, potentially altering the law’s applicability and compliance requirements.

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In a letter last week to the Virginia agency managing bids and proposals for the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, SpaceX claimed the state’s final proposal purposefully excluded Starlink, the company’s low Earth orbit satellite internet service, from most locations. The company claims that excluding its services would be a “massive waste of federal taxpayer money.”

The Sacramento suburb of Folsom, California, last month released a promotional video that showcased Bigfoot giving a guided tour of the city — going to the zoo, swimming in Lake Natoma, getting ice cream and ziplining. The video is the latest instance of local governments turning to AI to boost their tourism or streamline processes.

After a yearslong legal debate, the California Supreme Court has held to a decision that police departments in the state are required to release some of the footage recorded by their drones. The court denied hearing the City of Chula Vista’s argument against a court requirement that it release its police department’s drone footage to a journalist who asked to see some of the footage.

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