WBA Executive Committee members Anna Engelhart, from Allen Media, and Randy Hawke, from Mid-West Family, testified Tuesday before the Legislative Council Study Committee on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Wisconsin.
The hearing was held on the UW-Stout campus in Menomonie.
Engelhart and Hawke spoke to the committee about how artificial intelligence has helped with broadcast operations, and how it has also created challenges like protecting intellectual property and combating misinformation.
“Having someone replicate a respected journalist or anchor and use that likeness to promote biased thoughts and unsafe products reduces the public’s trust in our service by no fault of our own,” Englehart said. “I do think we need some kind of protection for our content and the talent to curate and present that content, but I’m really concerned that too much regulation would interfere with our news gathering process.”
The study committee is directed to review current uses of artificial intelligence technology and make recommendations for legislation regarding the use and development of artificial intelligence technology.
