Colorado is experiencing a major case of buyer's remorse over the state's new artificial intelligence law—a warning for other states rushing to regulate emerging tech.
A rush to regulate AI in Colorado flipped the right order of policymaking. For fast-moving tech, lawmakers should begin with a "try-first" mentality, allowing innovators to introduce their products. Next, they should study any resulting harms and whether new laws or regulations could address those harms. Only then should effective regulation be pursued, in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, with rules tailored to the state's capacity and the public's own assessment of the benefits and risks of the technology.
Instead of following these best practices, Colorado's Legislature hastily enacted Senate Bill 24-205: Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence—an expansive, complex AI law that it is now scrambling to fix.
