USA – MASSACHUSETTS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Paul A. Hughes, Evan S. Kipperman, Daniela Badiola Spanos, Katherine “Katie” Rubino, Tamia Simonis and Mark W. Heaphy, Wiggin and Dana LLP
legislation explicitly focused on AI issues. The propos - als under consideration include: • AI disclosure requirements; • restrictions on AI-based employee monitoring; • a bill targeting algorithmic discrimination that would impose strict liability and a private right of action; • a bill establishing comprehensive data controller obligations regarding AI-related data processing; and • legislation addressing the use of AI in healthcare settings, including a prohibition on AI making independent therapeutic decisions in behavioural health. State regulation generally Looking beyond Massachusetts, more than half of US state legislatures have enacted statutes that meaning - fully regulate some aspect of AI. In general, these laws have aimed to: • establish AI governance bodies (task forces, com - missions and executive offices to guide AI policy and oversee government use of AI systems); • mandate transparency (disclosing AI’s role in decision-making); • prevent bias (algorithmic discrimination by AI sys - tems in high-stakes decisions); and • limit or prohibit “deepfakes” (realistic, artificial images, videos and audio generated by AI and used for malicious or deceptive purposes such as non-consensual pornography and election disinfor - mation). Federal regulation At the federal level, the Trump administration released an AI action plan last July that emphasised federal deregulation, the acceleration of AI infrastructure, the promotion of open models, the securing of US hegem - ony and the removal of what the plan characterised as ideological biases. The plan followed President Trump’s January revocation of the Biden administra - tion’s prior Executive Orders and priorities regarding AI. Among other recommendations, the plan called for:
• the identification and removal of federal regulations that hinder the development of AI technologies; • the revision of environmental standards, permitting processes and procurement priorities to accelerate infrastructure development; • the use of discretionary federal spending to chal - lenge and dissuade state regulatory requirements; • promoting access to large-scale computing resources and private-sector adoption of open source models; and • directing the Department of Commerce to facilitate the exportation of US-developed “full-stack AI packages” and the global adoption of AI technolo - gies that meet US technical and security stand - ards. In March 2026, the administration released an AI legis - lative framework further emphasising the goals above, calling on Congress to implement the administration’s policy objectives, and introducing additional priorities related to children, fair use, free speech and workforce By contrast, Europe has gone in a different direction, adopting comprehensive regulations in 2024, with phased implementation during 2025 and 2026. The EU AI Act contains five core principles, requiring uses of AI to be safe, transparent, traceable, non-discrimi - natory and environmentally friendly. Applications of AI technology are classified as posing unacceptable risk, high risk or limited risk. Deployment of AI technology classified as presenting unacceptable risk is prohib - ited, while high- and limited-risk AI uses are regulated, albeit at different levels. High-risk technologies, for example, require mandatory assessments of their potential impact on fundamental rights. Limited-risk systems trigger less stringent obligations, including informing users when they are viewing AI- generated content. In all cases, AI tools must be over - seen by humans, rather than by technology. European regulators also required measures to protect copy - rights, certain mandatory disclosures and detailed technical documentation. Penalties for violations can be severe, and the Act applies to entities providing or deploying AI systems that are either used in the EU education. EU AI Act
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