Dear California innovators: Texas is open for AI business - Sacramento Bee post \ stacker news ~AI

Not sure how accurate this is. Maybe someone can chime in from California. But this came across my desk this evening. Will say there is a very active AI boom in Austin, almost everyone I run into downtown or at CF is doing something in AI, it's reminiscent of Web3 in 2021.

While California’s tech scene is legendary, the state’s lawmakers are botching artificial intelligence policy with a tangle of red tape. Texas has quickly become a new hub for technology giants and is throwing open its doors to innovators ready to escape the regulatory chaos of the Golden State.

AI is transforming industries from energy to healthcare to agriculture at a pace that leaves lawmakers scrambling. As the voice of Texas business, I see AI’s potential to redefine the future, and I know from my conversations with business leaders here and across the country that smart policy is key to unlocking it.

So far, California lawmakers have churned out over 30 AI-related bills this year, each more muddled than the last. Senate Bills 243 and 420, for example, target a range of issues, from mental health chatbots to general-purpose AI.

Layer in proposed bans on impersonation tools, new limits on how employers can use AI and rigid rules around biometric data, and the result is a regulatory morass that threatens to halt innovation in its tracks.

Also saw this overly optimistic post from Reform Texas - Texas Emerges as the New AI Hub Amid California’s Scattershot Regulations

Texas Bets Big: Pro-Innovation AI Law Attracts Startups Fleeing California

As California floods the market with over 30 AI bills, Texas is taking a different approach—passing House Bill 149 to create a clear, business-friendly path for AI development, including a 3-year regulatory sandbox.

They go on to say...

Need to know:

House Bill 149 bans harmful AI uses but supports innovation with a 36-month sandbox for experimentation.
Tech firms like ABBYY, Cognigy, and SmartAction recently acquired are relocating to Austin and Dallas for clearer laws and lower taxes.
Texas’s advisory council ensures that AI regulation is informed by real world experts not just politicians.

Archive post: https://archive.ph/3SFBL

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 9 Aug

California lawmakers are basically dysfunctional. Few of them come from a business background, most come from an activist or legal background. They measure their success by the passage of bills, but rarely consider the actual effects of the bills after they're passed. So it just becomes useless red tape.

California is a failed state, only held up by the wealth and talent it has built over prior decades, as well as as ample natural resources. The question is how much longer these advantages can sustain the state in the face of a basically failed government

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 9 Aug

So far, California lawmakers have churned out over 30 AI-related bills this year, each more muddled than the last. Senate Bills 243 and 420, for example, target a range of issues, from mental health chatbots to general-purpose AI. Layer in proposed bans on impersonation tools, new limits on how employers can use AI and rigid rules around biometric data, and the result is a regulatory morass that threatens to halt innovation in its tracks.

This sounds like California lawmakers... remember we banned 1099s and forced Lyft and DoorDash drivers to be W-2 until another ballot initiative partially overturned that law (I think it was AB5 or 55)