{"id":24959,"date":"2026-05-01T23:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T23:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/24959\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T23:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T23:35:11","slug":"colorados-ai-compromise-would-focus-regulations-on-informing-consumers-when-the-technology-is-used","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/24959\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado\u2019s AI compromise would focus regulations on informing consumers when the technology is used\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Companies that create and use artificial intelligence wouldn\u2019t have to disclose how their systems help make decisions on things like hiring, loans and housing under a bill introduced Friday in the Colorado Senate.<\/p>\n

But the long-awaited measure tweaking Colorado\u2019s first-in-the-nation law regulating AI would still require companies and other organizations using AI to notify consumers if AI is being used to make such consequential decisions. They would also have to give consumers an opportunity to appeal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The measure, Senate Bill 189, also makes a big change by pushing back the start date of the law regulating AI to January 2027 from June.<\/p>\n

The measure \u2014\u00a0which aims to strike a narrow balance between allowing the AI industry to flourish while protecting the general public \u2014 is Colorado lawmakers\u2019 third attempt to rewrite the 2024 law regulating artificial intelligence<\/a>. The law was originally supposed to take effect in February, but the start date was pushed back to June<\/a> to give the legislature more time to come up with a compromise between consumer advocates and organizations that want to use AI to interact with the public.<\/p>\n

The new bill also comes as the U.S. Department of Justice joined a lawsuit against Colorado filed by Elon Musk\u2019s xAI company<\/a> alleging the state\u2019s existing law is unconstitutional and jeopardizes the country\u2019s position as \u201cthe global AI leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the original AI law passed, it created an uproar among tech companies over concerns it was too stringent and would stifle technological advances. Consumer advocates felt the law was too weak.<\/p>\n

At the time, lawmakers, the governor and the tech industry agreed to work together to make changes before it took effect. But finding a solution has confounded the legislature for more than two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, a Denver Democrat, said the existing law \u2014\u00a0which he wrote \u2014 is more comprehensive than Senate Bill 189 in that it requires companies developing and deploying AI to assess how their technology works and then disclose that information to the Colorado Attorney General\u2019s Office and consumers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one is more of a notice bill,\u201d said Rodriguez, who is also a lead sponsor of Senate Bill 189. \u201cIt still has the basic premise of: You have to notify the consumer that they\u2019re interacting with AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, during a news conference in Denver about what happened during the 2025 legislative session. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 189 is largely based on recommendations made by a working group<\/a> convened by Gov. Jared Polis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The measure would require tech companies that develop artificial intelligence systems to provide companies and agencies that use AI \u2014 like governments, universities, hospitals and banks \u2014 with information on how the technology is intended to be used. Developers would also have to share information on harmful or inappropriate uses, training materials, and notices about limitations and risks.<\/p>\n

The bill would also require businesses, schools and governments that use AI to provide consumers with ways to appeal decisions made by AI and to request human review or reconsideration. Consumers would also be able to review the information, such as credit scores, used by AI to make consequential decisions to ensure it\u2019s accurate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not happy with everything in the bill,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cBut I think you could say a lot of the groups aren\u2019t happy with everything in the bill, and at the end of the day, I think that is an important place for us to start.\u201d<\/p>\n

If everyone is unhappy, Rodriguez said, that likely means a good compromise has been reached.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this still gives basic consumer protections and some transparency,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The group People for Responsible Technology, or PART, which is made up of unions and consumer protection groups, has been pushing for AI regulations in Colorado. It said it\u2019s \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d about the bill.<\/p>\n

\"The(Illustration courtesy: Unsplash)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt provides a path to hold developers and businesses using AI accountable when the technology makes consequential decisions for everyday Coloradans,\u201d said Dennis Dougherty, who leads the AFL-CIO in Colorado, which is a PART member alongside AARP Colorado, the ACLU of Colorado, Colorado Common Cause, the Colorado Education Association and the Colorado Cross Disabilities Coalition.<\/p>\n

Bryan Leach, CEO of Ibotta, the Denver-based shopping app, said Senate Bill 189 \u201cis a marked improvement over the original bill that was passed.\u201d He\u2019s not happy with everything in the measure, but feels it\u2019s a much more practical approach.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez said one provision he demanded in Senate Bill 189 would expire after three years: the opportunity for AI developers and deployers to resolve violations of the law without facing civil penalties under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. (Violations would include not notifying a consumer that AI is being used to make a consequential decision or not providing an appeal process to consumers.)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not an eternal get-out-of-jail-free card,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Leach said the expiration of the so-called right-to-cure provision in the bill is a problem that he hopes lawmakers reconsider. He thinks it\u2019s reasonable for AI deployers to have a chance to fix a violation before facing fines and other penalties for a deficiency they might not be aware of.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 189 also seeks to clarify developer and deployer liability, including to shield developers from enforcement action arising from improper uses of the technology by deployers. Additionally, the legislation would dictate that when liability is shared between a developer and deployer, penalties must be allocated based on the relative share of fault.<\/p>\n

\"\"Desks in the House chamber at the Colorado State Capitol are clean and empty on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, awaiting the return lawmakers. (Hart Van Denburg\/CPR News, via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance)<\/p>\n

The Colorado Attorney General\u2019s Office would still be responsible for enforcing the law under Senate Bill 189.<\/p>\n

Musk\u2019s xAI company filed its lawsuit against Colorado on April 9. Musk\u2019s lawyers argued that Colorado\u2019s existing AI law is \u201cunconstitutionally vague\u201d and \u201cinvites arbitrary enforcement,\u201d arguing it fails to define key terms.<\/p>\n

The DOJ said in its complaint<\/a> that the law \u201cconstrains the information that AI systems convey, obligates AI developers and deployers to discriminate, and then enforces the state-mandated discrimination with onerous policy, assessment, and disclosure requirements that will disproportionately burden small businesses and start-ups.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the request of xAI and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the federal judge overseeing the case agreed to delay the case<\/a> until the Attorney General\u2019s Office completes rules on the law and resolves a to-be-filed request by xAI that implementation of the law be blocked until the case is finished.<\/p>\n

The other main sponsors of Senate Bill 189 are Senate President James Coleman, House Majority Leader Monica Duran and Assistant House Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon. They\u2019re all Democrats.<\/p>\n

This is a developing story that will be updated.<\/p>\n

Colorado Sun staff writer Olivia Prentzel contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

Type of Story: News<\/p>\n

Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Companies that create and use artificial intelligence wouldn\u2019t have to disclose how their systems help make decisions on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,16856,25,2130,11781,16857,12525,11759,625,2901,464,781,16858],"class_list":{"0":"post-24959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ai","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-ai-law","10":"tag-artificial-intelligence","11":"tag-colorado","12":"tag-colorado-ai-law","13":"tag-colorado-general-assembly","14":"tag-colorado-legislature","15":"tag-colorado-politics","16":"tag-donald-trump","17":"tag-jared-polis","18":"tag-politics","19":"tag-tech","20":"tag-tehcnology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}