Kansas lawmakers briefed on AI task force; members raise concerns about partisan exclusion and ‘hallucinations’

Representative Sean Walcott briefed the Committee on Legislative Modernization on a newly formed artificial‑intelligence task force and answered lawmakers’ questions about what AI is, how it is used and how the task force will operate.

Walcott told the committee that, at its core, “artificial intelligence … is nothing more than a software package” that uses statistical analysis to return the most probable outcome. He said public awareness rose sharply after 2022 when consumer chatbots became widely available, but that chatbots and robotics are different components of broader systems.

The task force, Walcott said, has expanded to about 15 members and includes three legislators, executive‑branch and attorney‑general office representation, AI researchers from the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Wichita State University, and private‑sector experts including the Kansas City Tech Council. He described two primary roles: serve as a passive knowledge resource for legislative committees and, when experts identify a gap, actively recommend topics for the legislature to consider. He emphasized the body is intended as a resource and not a voting legislative committee.

Walcott highlighted one operational risk of current AI systems: so‑called "hallucinations," where models produce plausible but incorrect information. He recounted asking an AI about other states’ practices and getting a reply that a committee existed; he could not find any record and the model later acknowledged it had inferred an answer that did not exist. “I inferred based on the topic in the assumption … it gave me an answer that did not exist,” he said.

Several lawmakers pressed for safeguards and inclusiveness. Representative McDonald said Democrats were not informed of the task force and called the omission “offensive,” asking whether meetings were public and whether minutes exist. Walcott said the effort was intended as an apolitical knowledge base and that the membership list was meant to evolve, but he acknowledged an open discussion would be warranted if inclusion improved the body’s credibility.

Other concerns included geographic and institutional representation. Representative Brantley urged outreach to Western Kansas; Representative Boyle Pesa and others asked that community colleges and users with fewer resources be considered. Representative Orpiza recommended closed, non‑web‑based systems for legislatures that employ AI and cautioned against relying on public chatbots for official legislative work.

Educators on the committee warned about academic misuse and verification. Representative Simmons, who teaches, said it is already difficult to trust written student submissions and urged the task force to find solutions for academic integrity. Lawmakers also asked how to preserve human judgment in health‑care decisions if AI tools are used for screening or coverage determinations.

Walcott said the first full task‑force meeting is scheduled for March 6 with an initial focus on ethics; he described monthly meetings and said future topics would include economic development, workforce preparedness, health care and education. Reviser‑office staff told the committee the body has not been formally set up by the Legislative Coordinating Council and has not been assigned statutory days or formal meeting status.

The committee did not take formal action on the task force during the briefing. The chair closed the session and reminded members the committee will reconvene Monday to consider a cybersecurity bill and related amendments.