Manjeet Rege, professor and chair of the Department of Software Engineering and Data Science and director of the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence at the University of St. Thomas, spoke with KARE 11 about the potential impact of shifting AI regulation from the state level to the federal government. Rege said the rapid evolution of AI requires clear consumer protection guidelines and emphasized how a national framework could influence Minnesota’s work on ethical and secure AI use.
From the story:
Generative artificial intelligence is already woven into daily life – from automated customer service chats to advanced data analysis, to simply asking a question on ChatGPT. And as AI expands at breakneck speed, a new political fight is emerging over who should have the power to regulate it. ...
The executive order is expected to be released this week, potentially setting off legal and political challenges over whether Washington alone should write the rules for one of the fastest-evolving technologies in the world.
University of St. Thomas professor and AI researcher, Manjeet Rege, says the technology is evolving too quickly for rigid rules, but some oversight is essential.
“So, the cat is out of the bag, but now that the cat is out of the bag, we need to be friends with that cat,” Rege said. “We need general guidelines about consumer protection when it comes to data being used.”
Rege says the U.S. leads the world in AI innovation, with China close behind, which raises the stakes for how data is handled and who controls it.
