Ohio lawmakers pitch commission to study frontier technologies, debate AI risks

State Rep. Heidi Workman and State Rep. Thad Claget, both members of the Ohio Legislature's technology committee, outlined competing priorities for lawmakers as they consider how to respond to rapid advances in artificial intelligence and related technologies.

Workman described House Bill 650 as a legislative step to "dig deeper" into the definitions and industry impacts of frontier technologies and quantum computing, saying the proposed Frontier Technologies and Quantum Computing Commission would study how to "harness them right to put Ohio at the forefront of these developments and also protect the people that sent us here to serve." The bill was presented as a study and coordination mechanism; no committee vote or formal adoption was recorded during the conversation.

Thad Claget framed the policy question around risk and scale, describing modern large language models as agents that could act autonomously and warning of concentrated computing power. "The control of the world quite literally rests in the computing power," he said, adding that the speed of development creates "extreme vulnerability" and complicates the evidence lawmakers rely on.

Both representatives said the Tech and Innovation Committee covers a broad set of computer-based technologies and that data centers are among the "hot topics" driving public interest. Workman said energy is a "cornerstone" of frontier-technology development and that data centers may be included in the commission's remit, though she also noted a separate study commission focused only on data centers has been proposed.

The pair emphasized the balance lawmakers must strike between encouraging economic opportunity and guarding against local harms. They cited constituent concerns ranging from land use and water impacts to preserving jobs and privacy, and warned against hasty policy that could create difficult long-term consequences.

Both lawmakers also described the work of understanding these technologies as a learning process for legislators. Claget compared the current debate to historical technology shifts and said the committee is "scratching our head the whole time" about technical language and how to set effective guardrails.

Workman urged more engagement and study; Claget stressed vigilance and the need for law that keeps pace with rapid technical change. Neither representative announced a timetable for hearings or for formal consideration of HB 650. The program ended with information on how to follow committee activity on Ohio House GOP channels.