On May 16, 2024, Assembly Bill 4400 establishing the New Jersey Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council (the Advisory Council) was introduced to the New Jersey State Assembly. The bill is a companion to Senate Bill 3357, which was introduced to the New Jersey State Senate on June 3, 2024.

In particular, the bill provides for the establishment of the New Jersey Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council within the Office of Information Technology. The stated purpose of the Advisory Council is to study artificial intelligence (AI) and the advantages and disadvantages of State agencies procuring, developing, and implementing AI.

'Artificial intelligence' is defined under the bill as:

• any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant human oversight or that can learn from experience and improve performance when exposed to data sets;
• an artificial system developed in computer software, physical hardware, or other context that solves tasks requiring human-like perception, cognition, planning, learning, communication, or physical action;
• an artificial system designed to think or act like a human, including cognitive architectures and neural networks;
• a set of techniques, including machine learning, that is designed to approximate a cognitive task; or
• an artificial system designed to act rationally, including an intelligent software agent or embodied robot that achieves goals using perception, planning, reasoning, learning, communicating, decision-making, and acting.

Responsibilities of the Advisory Council include:

• assessing the need for a State code of ethics for AI used by State agencies and, if needed, developing a code of ethics for AI seeking algorithmic discrimination protections and maintaining data privacy;
• identifying the advantages and disadvantages of State agencies procuring, developing, and implementing AI;
• recommending guidelines to deliver and support AI and other similar emerging technologies; and
• reviewing automated decision systems used by State agencies for ethical concerns.

The bill provides that the Advisory Council must issue a report to the Governor and Legislature of New Jersey on its findings and recommendations, and is set to expire on submission of the report.

You can read the bill here and track its progress here.