Everyone is talking about A.I.

artificial intelligence these days, the good things it can do and the bad.

Well, what will Kentucky lawmakers do about AI when the General Assembly convenes in January?

The state's artificial intelligence task force just set its policy recommendations to the Senate leadership or to the leadership in general, with children's safety among the top priorities.

Our Mackenzie Spink tells us more about potential artificial intelligence legislation and this legislative update.

The ten recommendations from the Artificial Intelligence Task Force touch on subjects like protecting consumers from data collection, using AI to improve the Medicaid system, and assigning the overview of AI in the state to permanent committees.

Democratic caucus chair Senator Reggie Thomas says the recommendation to pass laws protecting children on social media is by far his favorite.

We see every day here in America, discussions of sexual exploitation of minors, sexual trafficking of minors.

AI is out there every day, causing harm and danger to to our children.

I think this is an excellent recommendation because it promotes online safety for minors, for child welfare, and for parents.

However, he expressed cautious support for the recommendations regarding data centers.

Those recommendations ask the General Assembly to consider policies to determine future locations for data centers, and to keep in mind the center's large needs for water and energy and for data centers.

However, I think there are two points that need to be made regarding, the increased use and proliferation of data centers here in Kentucky.

One is that no data center should be built in Kentucky without there being some kind of environmental impacts survey.

Related to what what is going to how is going to impact our environment?

I think if there's an increased cost that comes with data center construction or use, then that data center should pay for that increased cost.

No, not, the current consumers or the current business users who are using it before the data center came online.

Co-Chair of the task force, representative Josh Bray, says those recommendations already address Thomas's concerns.

I can tell you that your concerns are the exact reason that that was those sections were drafted.

The PSC already has to do when they approve a large user, they already have to do the environmental study kind of watch, not necessarily an environmental, but a environmental as in the grid usage capacity, availability, that type of stuff that's already incorporated.

And that goes into recommendation nine.

Because you're absolutely right.

We want to make sure that the the end user or the, the people aren't, their electric bills don't increase because of, consumption by the data center and had a lot of conversation with power companies, data centers, the Public Service Commission.

So there will be a bill coming to address those exact concerns.

While lawmakers seem to welcome the idea of more data centers in Kentucky, there has already been community opposition about the size and environmental impact of these centers.

Earlier this year, plans to build a data center in Oldham County were eventually scrapped due to public backlash.

For Kentucky edition, I'm Mackenzie Swank.

Thank you.

Mackenzie.

Representative grace says that some of the task force's concerns about AI could be better addressed at the federal level.

And so part of the memo encourages Kentucky's federal delegation to work on specific AI policies.