Are politicians ready to share the limelight with AI? This question arose when Assembly Member Clyde Vanel enlisted the services of Auto-GPT (an autonomous AI agent) to conceive and draft a piece of legislation. Assembly Bill 6896, remarkably bearing an "AI disclosure," may be the first to credit an AI program for its groundwork.
Unlike conversational AI apps like ChatGPT, you don't explicitly tell an autonomous agent what to do. Instead, you simply give it a goal such as, "Figure out what legislation is missing in NYS and write a law to fill the gap." The agent then figures out how to do the work by itself.
The bill, aimed at providing renters with copies of their lease agreements upon request, sparked a crucial dialogue. If AI develops a bill, who truly claims authorship? In an age where AI can draft news articles, should we feel threatened or empowered?
According to City & State New York, Vanel – known for his technologically progressive stances – stands firmly behind the AI-drafted legislation. He embraces AI as a tool (not a replacement) that can augment our abilities, sharpen our focus, and improve efficiency.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer echoed this sentiment, underlining the importance of understanding and regulating AI technology. However, defining such a framework remains a challenge, and questions loom over AI's role in shaping legislative processes.
We are clearly moving toward a future where AI shares our political stage (and every other stage, for that matter). Vanel's experiment provokes critical thoughts about AI's expanding capabilities, but the irony is not lost on me. We can't get a piece of legislation passed about data privacy, broadband access, social media addiction, or a hundred other tech issues… but we can use absolutely unproven word calculators to write new laws. Anyone else think this is like The Far Side IRL?
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As always, your thoughts and comments are both welcome and encouraged.
ABOUT SHELLY PALMER
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named he covers tech and business for , is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular . He's a , and the creator of the popular, free online course, . Follow or visit .
