A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE "RIGHT TO COMPUTE ACT" BY ADDING CHAPTER 35 TO TITLE 1 SO AS TO REQUIRE RISK MANAGEMENT POLICIES FOR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE CONTROLLED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS AND TO ESTABLISH WHEN PRIVATE COMPUTATIONAL RESOURCES MAY BE RESTRICTED.

 

Whereas, innovations in computational technology, such as machine learning, enable technological breakthroughs in nearly every sector, leading to increased economic growth and greater prosperity; and

 

Whereas, ensuring the United States remains at the forefront of computational technology is critical for driving economic growth, safeguarding national security, and retaining a competitive edge over adversarial nations; and

 

Whereas, while recognizing the benefits of recent innovations in computational technologies, technology industry leaders have also expressed concern that some applications of powerful computational resources may pose a high risk to public health and safety; and

 

Whereas, federal and state governments increasingly propose far-reaching restrictions on the ability to privately own or make use of computational resources for lawful purposes, some of which may infringe on fundamental constitutional rights to property and free expression; and

 

Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly is the proper branch of government to establish policies and principles relating to the ability to own and make use of computational resources within the context of state constitutional provisions. Now therefore,

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "Right to Compute Act."

 

SECTION 2.  The General Assembly finds that the right to acquire, possess, and protect property and freedom of expression, as protected by the South Carolina Constitution, also embodies the notion of a fundamental right to own and make use of technological tools, including computational resources. Any governmental restriction placed on the ability to privately own or make use of computational resources for lawful purposes must be limited to those demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to fulfill a compelling governmental interest.

 

SECTION 3.  Title 1 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

CHAPTER 35

 

Right to Compute

 

    Section 1-35-10. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

    (1) "Artificial intelligence system" means any machine learning-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs the system receives how to generate outputs including, but not limited to, content, decisions, predictions, and recommendations that can influence physical or virtual environments.

    (2) "Compelling governmental interest" means a governmental interest of the highest order in protecting the public that cannot be achieved through less restrictive means. This includes, but is not limited to:

       (a) ensuring that a critical infrastructure facility controlled by an artificial intelligence system develops a risk management policy;

       (b) addressing conduct that deceives or defrauds the public;

       (c) protecting individuals, especially minors, from harm by a person who distributes deepfakes and other harmful synthetic content with actual knowledge of the nature of that material;

       (d) taking actions that prevent or abate common law nuisances created by physical datacenter infrastructure.

    (3) "Computational resources" means any tools, technologies, systems, or infrastructure, whether digital, analog, existing, or some other form, that facilitate any form of computation, data processing, storage, transmission, manipulation, control, creation, dissemination, or use of information and data. This includes, but is not limited to, hardware, software, algorithms, sensors, networks, protocols, platforms, services, systems, cryptography, machine learning, or quantum applications.

    (4)(a) "Critical artificial intelligence" means an artificial intelligence system that is designed and deployed to make, or is a substantial factor in making, a consequential decision.

       (b) "Critical artificial intelligence" does not include:

           (i) an artificial intelligence system that is intended to:

               (A) perform a narrow procedural task;

               (B) improve the result of a previously completed human activity;

               (C) perform a preparatory task to an assessment relevant to a consequential decision; or

               (D) detect a decision-making pattern or a deviation from a preexisting decision-making pattern;

           (ii) antifraud, antimalware, antivirus, calculator, cybersecurity, database, data storage, firewall, internet domain registration, internet website loading, networking, robocall filtering, spam filtering, spell checking, spreadsheet, web caching, web hosting, or search engine technologies or similar technologies; or

           (iii) a technology that communicates in natural language for the purpose of providing users with information, makes referrals or recommendations, answers questions, or generates other content and that is subject to an acceptable use policy that prohibits the generation of unlawful content.

    (5) "Critical infrastructure facility" has the same meaning as provided in 42 U.S.C. Section 5195c(e).

    (6) "Deployer" means an individual, company, or other organization that utilizes an artificial intelligence system.

    (7) "Governmental action" means any law, ordinance, regulation, rule, policy, condition, test, permit, or administrative practice enacted by a governmental entity that restricts the common or intended use of computational resources by its owner or invitees.

    (8) "Governmental entity" means any unit of state or local government, including the State, a county, city, town, municipality, or political subdivision thereof, and includes any branch, department, division, office, or governmental entity of state or local government.

 

    Section 1-35-20. When critical infrastructure facilities are controlled in whole or in part by a critical artificial intelligence system, the deployer shall develop a risk management policy after deploying the system that is reasonable and considers guidance and standards in the latest version of the artificial intelligence risk management framework from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the ISO/IEC 4200 artificial intelligence standard from the International Organization for Standardization, or another nationally or internationally recognized risk management framework for artificial intelligence systems. A plan prepared under federal requirements constitutes compliance with this section.

 

    Section 1-35-30. A governmental action that restricts the ability to privately own or make use of computational resources for lawful purposes, which infringes on a citizen's fundamental right to property and free expression, must be limited to an action demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to fulfill a compelling interest.

 

    Section 1-35-40. Nothing in this chapter may be construed to alter, diminish, or interfere with the rights and remedies available under federal or state intellectual property laws including, but not limited to, patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws.

 

    Section 1-35-50. Nothing in this chapter may be construed to preempt federal law.

 

SECTION 4.  If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.

 

SECTION 5.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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