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Business and privacy experts urge predictable rules, energy planning and risk‑based oversight for AI
Summary
Industry groups and privacy experts told the committee that states should avoid a patchwork of prescriptive rules, plan for data-center energy demand, and consider risk‑based regulation and procurement standards; the Future of Privacy Forum recommended targeted, risk‑based laws for consequential automated decision making.
Representatives of New Jersey's business and healthcare sectors and privacy groups told the Legislative Oversight Committee that predictable regulation, energy planning and targeted oversight are priorities as AI adoption accelerates.
Kyle Sollinder, director of economic policy research at the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, urged caution against a regulatory patchwork that would slow innovation and recommended national consistency; he also warned the state to improve its competitiveness to retain students, researchers and firms.
Chrissy Butis, president and CEO of the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey, described AI's role in drug discovery and clinical workflows and highlighted that the Food and Drug Administration has reviewed and authorized hundreds of AI and machine‑learning medical devices. Biopharma witnesses said AI can speed research but stressed predictable regulatory pathways and privacy safeguards that adhere to HIPAA.
Stacy Gray, policy director for the Future of Privacy Forum's Center for Artificial Intelligence, urged targeted, risk‑based regulation and stronger enforcement capacity. "The best policy approaches that we've seen ... tend to be effective when they are targeted, risk‑based, and address the gaps in existing laws," she said, and pointed to state examples that regulate high‑risk automated decision making.
Industry witnesses also raised energy and infrastructure concerns: testimony cited estimates that data centers could make up about 8% of US power demand in the near future, up from roughly 3% today, and urged planning for transmission and renewable generation as part of any state AI strategy.
Lawmakers said the committee will continue hearings on labor impacts and utilities in coming sessions.
