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Microsoft Advocates For Washington State AI Regulation Bill

Washington State has introduced a bill to regulate facial recognition software, and tech giant Microsoft is advocating for its passage, while e-commerce leader Amazon remains undecided. Amazon asked state senator Reuven Carlyle, who sponsored the bill, for clarification as well as a change to the requirement that AI software developers claiming the ability to identify faces must allow third parties to test it. Carlyle explained he would examine all submitted requests and introduce a revised version of the bill.

Bloomberg reports Carlyle stated that, “it’s fair to say Amazon has a deep skepticism and concern about meaningful restrictions on facial recognition.” But he added that Amazon has also “made it clear their goal is to attempt to get to a place where they can be supportive of the legislation.”

Microsoft president/chief legal officer Brad Smith stated that, with regard to the Washington legislation, “opening up the software for third-party testing is one of the key parts of the bill.” He noted that being opposed to testing is “like an automobile company objecting to testing of airbags.” “The public has the right to evaluate these services, and responsible companies should recognize the importance of this kind of third-party testing,” said Smith.

Third parties — MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini and the American Civil Liberties Union — have already tested Amazon and Microsoft’s facial-recognition programs.

See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/microsoft-advocates-for-washington-state-ai-regulation-bill/