PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Artificial intelligence is quickly establishing itself as part of our future, but will it be used to help or to harm? Oregon’s new Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council aims to find out.

The council held its first meeting Tuesday to discuss what Gov. Tina Kotek acknowledged as unknown territory, adding that artificial intelligence may be brimming with potential benefits for society and business, but it also poses risks.

In the meeting, Gov. Kotek set her expectations for the team: “You have a very critical role to make sure that we do this right.”

Members of the council include senators and state representatives, students, and leaders in AI technology.

“I think we’re all potentially excited and potentially wary of what this technology can be,” Sen. Daniel Bonham said.

Kotek launched the council with an executive order in November 2023 stating the council would meet each Tuesday to discuss the benefits and risks posed by AI.

“The technology keeps evolving and we want to make good use and responsible use of technology in general,” Hector Dominguez Aguirre said. “Thinking about how that is going to impact communities and also provide some benefits.”

The council is tasked with developing an action plan with recommendations on how state government should guide awareness, education, and the use of AI technology in an equitable, fair and transparent way.

“Artificial intelligence is a rapidly evolving landscape which the state must be well-prepared for,” Gov. Kotek said. “The council will conduct important work in identifying how the state can mitigate risk and center equity in this new technological frontier.”

This comes as Oregon lawmakers recently passed two bills related to AI, including Senate Bill 1571, which requires political candidates to identify campaign ads that use AI, and House Bill 4153, which establishes a task force to define terms around AI for legislative use.

“AI is really just mathematical algorithms at the end of the day, but it’s the data we feed into it that leverages that tool for good or bad,” AI research scientist Justus Eaglesmith said.