Artificial intelligence is an exponentially growing technology that is already challenging social, economic, and political structures. The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 has proved to be an historical turning point in not just the evolution of AI but its widespread deployment and commercialization.
These changes and challenges have reverberated across the globe and Hawaiʻi has not been resistant. Hawaiʻi has experienced a legal scandal surrounding AI generated judicial briefs, increased AI integration into the real estate sector and we face the enduring challenge of responsibly integrating AI into our education system.
Unfortunately, Hawaiʻi has been a laggard in developing rules, regulations and legal frameworks to guide the positive development of AI. This needs to change.
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A report from November 2024 by the National Conference of State Legislatures shows our fellow states are not waiting. California, Texas, New York and Florida, among many other states, are decisively moving to rapidly adopt AI into their governmental, economic and social systems.
The example of Texas deserves particular attention.
In June 2025, the Lone Star State passed the Texas Responsible AI Governance Act, the culmination of two years of study from the states’ Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council. TRAIGA lays out landmark protections against discrimination, strengthening constitutional protections, and both checking the risk of AI systems manipulating human behavior and being used as a vector to create and spread child sexual abuse material.
What has Hawaiʻi done regarding AI policy? Not much and none of it particularly quickly.
We created the position of chief data officer, with a Data Task Force, to lead a State Data Office in 2022. Unfortunately, they don’t have much statutory authority and could use some prodding to start moving at the speed of relevance.
There’s more we can do to keep us from falling behind in the fast-paced developments of AI and fortunately, some of the solutions have already been proposed at the State Capitol.
Right now, at least four solid AI proposals are waiting from last session that the Hawaiʻi Legislature could quickly act on.
House Bill 1384 would create an Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council, like the body Texas created in 2023 that led to the pathbreaking TRAIGA legislation. House Bill 726 would create a data and AI “decision center” under the chief data officer, with the stronger statutory authorities missing from the State Data Office.
Finally, House Bill 546 and Senate Bill 1622 propose to establish an Aloha Intelligence Institute within the University of Hawaiʻi. This would provide crucial higher education support for AI development, for government and the state economy at large.
Notably, both bills made it through their originating chambers before grinding to a legislative halt. Lawmakers looking for a quick win on AI policy this session should strongly consider getting these proposals across the finish line in 2026.
What’s clear is that Hawaiʻi cannot afford to dither, much less take no action. We’ve talked quite a bit about how state and local governments are going to incorporate AI into their systems but we cannot ignore the profound economic dislocations that are coming.
If Hawaiʻi fails to decisively act, we risk not just losing economic opportunities but also leaving working- and middle-class families at the mercy of potentially severe job cuts. In a state already in a deep affordability crisis, we risk a socio-economic crisis through inaction.
It’s been almost three years now since AI, once a plot device for science fiction, burst onto the scene. Are we ready to seize the opportunities before us?
