Rapidly emerging artificial intelligence already has become so big, so all-encompassing in our daily lives that any effort to provide regulatory guardrails has to get it right.

Safeguards to AI’s development and use in Colorado must be drafted with surgical precision — enough to address concerns effectively without smothering the technology in our state. It requires a deep dive into the tech sector’s knowledge base on the subject and a comprehensive vetting of any regulatory proposal by leading AI experts.

That’s a tall order for any legislative body — and Colorado’s part-time legislature blew it when it made its attempt in 2024. The bill that was signed into law was cobbled together with enough potential pitfalls and overreaches to make Gov. Jared Polis back away from the measure before his signature had dried. Even the bill’s sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, agreed the law needed revisions before its implementation this coming Feb. 1.

That was over a year ago. The need for intervention is now urgent.

The law’s mere presence in state statute is radioactive to the burgeoning AI industry. Each day implementation nears is another day that puts the chill on the technology’s development — and that sets the stage for its exodus to friendlier climes. An economic analysis released this week by Colorado’s Common Sense Institute says the law “could impose severe economic costs on the state if it goes into effect…” So, time is of the essence.

Lawmakers were supposed to take up the matter during this year’s regular legislative session but failed to pass a bill. Thus, the special legislative session that begins today at the governor’s behest. On the short list of to-dos he handed lawmakers is atoning for the state’s AI misfire.

At this point, there’s really only time to scrap the law entirely and start over another day. The priority for now should be to make sure the current law doesn’t take effect. A bill to be introduced today, tentatively designated 25B-0012 and sponsored by Sen. Mark Baisley, R-Roxborough Park, would see to that and deserves support.

AI technology — too big for the slapdash treatment it got last year — is even bigger now. It’s advancing exponentially. Its reach is much more extensive, and it’s much more complicated.

Tinkering with the law’s specific provisions, given so complex an issue, is likely to backfire and open a can of worms.

Central to the problem with the 2024 law is its focus on countering “algorithmic discrimination.” It’s a debatable concern that has become the tail wagging the dog for a Legislature that is obsessed with “equity” yet seemingly indifferent to the development of the tech economy.

Consequently, the law sets unattainable standards for development and use of AI-driven software that would miss their mark and succeed only in squelching the technology and chasing off AI innovators to less oppressive states.

All the better to repeal it outright, as Baisley’s bill proposes. Arguably, the potential for AI to employ bias in certain applications, a concern of its sponsors, already is addressed separately by the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

Meanwhile, the subtext to this debate is the potential for Congress to step in with a uniform set of AI regulations for the whole nation. That would moot a state-by-state patchwork of rules for AI use and development.

Colorado policymakers may want to set aside attempts to regulate at the state level altogether and await such a federal framework. It could level the playing field for the technology to flourish and achieve its anticipated potential.

The Gazette Editorial Board