Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum offered advice to businesses in the state as they adapt to the growing tide of artificial intelligence.
The guidelines, developed by attorneys at the Oregon Department of Justice, inform businesses and individuals about existing laws that apply to AI, even those that existed before artificial intelligence took off. ‘importance.
Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool, capable of quickly transcribing or summarizing quantities of documents or other electronic tasks. But AI also presents potential threats, with criminals using it to scam people, for example by creating a fake AI voice to simulate the voice of a kidnapped victim or a fake AI video of a celebrity supporting a product.
“Artificial intelligence is already changing the world, from entertainment to government to business,” Rosenblum said in a recently released statement. “But even though machine learning and AI platforms are relatively new, that does not mean these new tools operate outside of existing law.”
The guidelines are the latest in a series of actions taken in Oregon to guard against artificial intelligence. This session, Oregon lawmakers adopted Senate Bill 1571which requires campaigns to disclose when they use artificial intelligence to manipulate an image, video or audio, including deepfakes, to influence voters.
In 2023, Governor Tina Kotek appointed a advisory board to guide the State’s work on artificial intelligence and make recommendations.
Last year, Rosenblum and other attorneys general called on Congress to explore ways to protect children of AI, including embellished images that imitate children’s images or voices.
Rosenblum said existing laws that apply to AI include the Unlawful Trade Practices Act, the Consumer Privacy Act and the Equality Act. THE adviceHowever, this is only a starting point and lawmakers will likely pass AI legislation in the coming years.
Laws in Oregon
Examples of application of existing law:
The Unlawful Trade Practices Act already protects consumers and prohibits companies from making false claims to them. This means that if a business uses chatbots, for example, to communicate with customers, this automated technology must provide accurate and non-misleading information.
A company could also violate state law with an AI-generated video that appears to be a celebrity endorsing a product when the celebrity has not, the guide says.
If a company uses AI to automatically set prices, it must still comply with laws against price gouging, such as during a declared emergency when essential goods like food and lodging are in demand.
Under Oregon consumer privacy laws, consumers can withdraw consent to the use of their data in AI models. Consumers can also opt out of AI models that make decisions like housing and education.
AI models are essentially large sets of data that can make decisions or predict outcomes based on patterns. Some worry that AI models could unfairly or unfairly deny applications for loans, housing or other benefits.
Protections remain in place against this, whether it is done by a machine or a human.
The Oregon Equality Act, for example, guarantees equal access to housing and public accommodations, according to guidelines. So if a company uses an AI-based mortgage approval system that systematically denies loans to qualified applicants from certain ethnicities or neighborhoods due to the AI system or reliance on biased data, it could violate the law, according to the guidelines.
“AI regulation is clearly a work in progress,” Rosenblum said. “As such, this guidance will likely need to be updated, based on relevant legislation passed during the 2025 Oregon legislative session, as well as possible future changes to federal laws relating to AI. So this is just a starting point for those who are beginning to think about, or even about to do, integrating AI into their business plans and operations in Oregon.
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