Georgia

Georgia Senate committee to look at ways to regulate artificial intelligence technology

Published

2 years ago

June 26, 2024

Georgia Senate committee to look at ways to regulate artificial intelligence technology

Dave Williams
| Capitol Beat News Service

ATLANTA – A Georgia Senate study committee on Wednesday set a broad framework for determining how the state should regulate emerging artificial intelligence technology to protect the public without stifling innovation.

“(AI) will literally cure cancer,” Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, the study committee’s chairman, said during the panel’s first meeting. “However, it also has the propensity to do great harm. … It’s going to impact and change things like never before.”

Several legislative committees held hearings on AI last year, and a bill was introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives during this year’s legislative session to criminalize the use of “deepfakes” generated by artificial intelligence to impersonate candidates in political ads. House Bill 986 overwhelmingly passed the House but died in the Senate.

On Wednesday, the new Senate study committee agreed on a broad range of policy areas AI will affect that need to be addressed in any legislation Georgia lawmakers come up with, including health care, public safety, education, and transportation.

Overlapping all of those categories is how to regulate AI in a way that ensures the technology is being used ethically and transparently. A House committee planning to begin meeting soon will also take up that issue, said Rep. Brad Thomas, R-Holly Springs, who was the chief sponsor of the deep-fakes bill.

Georgia could be among the first states to adopt regulations for AI. While the European Union’s Parliament adopted AI legislation last March, Colorado is the only U.S. state to have done so, Hayley Williams, director of the state Senate Office of Policy and Legislative Analysis, told the Senate panel.

Congress thus far hasn’t passed any AI regulations, she said.

“It’s a very complex universe to deal with and very difficult to regulate,” she said. “The reality is, the impact is too huge not to regulate.”

More: A ‘perfect tool’ to increase division: Augusta University professor talks TikTok ban

Williams said the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, which will take effect in 2026, regulates AI systems based on the risk they pose to the public. AI systems that pose an “unacceptable” risk are prohibited altogether, while systems considered to pose “minimal” risk are not regulated at all.

European companies that fail to comply face stiff fines, Williams said. Colorado’s law does not impose fines for non-compliance, she said.

Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, said the study committee’s goal should be to foster innovation in the development of AI in Georgia with less emphasis on imposing restrictions like the EU model.

But Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, said regulating AI systems to protect the public also must be an important goal.

“The primary function of government is to protect its citizens,” he said. “We should be ensuring we protect citizens from the potential impacts of AI.”

Albers said he plans to schedule seven or eight meetings of the study committee this summer and fall before the panel makes recommendations to the full Senate. The next meeting is set for July 17.

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Georgia

Man accused of raping University of Georgia student, police say

Published

10 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Man accused of raping University of Georgia student, police say

ATHENS, Ga. – A 19-year-old is facing assault-related charges after police said he raped a University of Georgia student early Saturday morning while she was walking home.

What we know:

Tydarius Wingfield of Athens allegedly approached the student in the area of 400 North Thomas Street just before 1:40 a.m. and asked to walk her home.

Wingfield and the victim did not know each other.

Wingfield then forced the woman behind a building where he sexually assaulted her, police said.

Investigators used the Real Time Crime Center’s camera system to see where the assault happened and track the victim and Wingfield’s movements. Officers continued tracking Wingfield until his arrest and positively identified him using the RTCC technology.

He is charged with rape, kidnapping, aggravated sexual battery and battery.

An investigation is ongoing.

What we don’t know:

It is unclear whether the victim was taken to the hospital after being attacked.

What you can do:

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Detective Burgamy at Charles.Burgamy@accgov.com or 762-400-7173.

The Source: Information in this report comes from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.

Athens-Clarke CountyUniversity of GeorgiaNewsCrime and Public Safety

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Georgia

Georgia’s Iranian community reacts to death of Ayatollah Khamenei

Published

22 hours ago

March 1, 2026

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Georgia’s Iranian community reacts to death of Ayatollah Khamenei

ATLANTA – As conflict intensifies between the United States, Israel and Iran, reactions are pouring in across the Atlanta metro area after President Donald Trump confirmed the death of Iran’s supreme leader.

The president confirmed on Truth Social that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint strike led by the U.S. and Israel.

What they’re saying:

“I have been waiting to hear this news for the last 20 years,” said Dr. Sasan Tavassoli, an Atlanta-based pastor born in Iran.

“Ayatollah Khamenei has been responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of Iranians over the last three decades. He has been a very evil dictator and a very oppressive tyrant.”

Other local Iranians, like Shohreh Mir, expressed a long-standing desire for internal change rather than outside intervention.

“This was an imposed war,” Mir said. “We still very much would like for Iranian people to change the regime by themselves.”

What’s next:

Tavassoli said the Ayatollah’s death now creates a new issue.

“Ayatollah Khamenei never invested in raising a succession after himself,” he said, “so the crisis of the Iranian revolution and the Iranian regime is there is no legitimate successor.”

While the long-term duration of the conflict remains unknown, Iran has already begun launching retaliatory strikes following the attack.

“This is a huge development for day one, but the war is not over,” Tavassoli noted. “There are still many ways that things can become even more bloody and destructive in the coming days and weeks.”

The Source: Information in this article came from FOX 5’s Rey Llerena speaking with Iranian Americans across Georgia.

IranDonald J. TrumpNewsPolitics

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Georgia

Body found near Georgia Power dam on Radium Springs Road in Albany

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Body found near Georgia Power dam on Radium Springs Road in Albany

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – A person was found dead in the 5200 block of Radium Springs Road on Saturday morning, according to Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler.

Body recovered in early morning water rescue call(WALB NEWS 10)

Fowler said the call came in as a water rescue. The body was recovered early Saturday, Feb. 28.

The coroner confirmed the person found was male. His identity and age remain unknown.

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