Data privacy, artificial intel challenge Montana legislature

“Before we get there, how about we set some lines in the sand and say ‘You own your ideas, you own your thoughts,’” Zolnikov said. “This puts the consumer in charge of the conversation.”

Despite “neural data” sounding like a sci-fi movie plot today, Zolnikov sees it looming heavy on the horizon. When introducing Senate Bill 163 on Jan. 23, Zolnikov said he predicts advertisers’ interest in this data will skyrocket once the technology, like Elon Musk’s Neuralink program, develops enough to be used commercially.

Senate Bill 212, the “Right to Compute Act,” is Zolnikov’s second piece of tech policy in discussion. The bill adds First Amendment protections to AI in hopes of “ensuring the United States remains at the forefront of computational technology,” as stated in the bill. It also adds guardrails to the use of AI in critical infrastructure.

Senate Bill 25, carried by Sen. Janet Ellis, D-Helena, which would require disclosure of “deepfakes” used in state elections.

Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Colombia Falls, introduced House Bill 178, which would prohibit the use of AI in surveillance and facial recognition unless used to identify a missing person, a suspect in a serious crime or to identify corpses.

Clayton Murphy