April 2025
Greetings,
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the mixer, we had a productive conversation and appreciated your insights. As we continue to monitor the evolving intersection of science, technology, and law, several active bills from Nevada’s 83rd Legislative Session stand out for their implications in healthcare and beyond. SB128 would limit the use of artificial intelligence in prior authorization decisions by insurers and remains under consideration in the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee. SB186 mandates disclosure when AI tools are used in patient communications and is currently in the Senate Health & Human Services Committee. SB199 proposes a comprehensive regulatory framework for AI across healthcare, education, and finance sectors and recently advanced to a work session on April 10.
On the national front, Congress continues shaping AI policy. The House AI Task Force is developing a bipartisan oversight framework, while the Senate AI Working Group has proposed $32 billion in AI research and development funding and released a national AI policy roadmap. Additionally, the New Democrat Coalition has endorsed ten bipartisan AI bills focused on workforce development, consumer protection, and election integrity. Key federal proposals include banning deceptive AI-generated political content, implementing pre-deployment reviews of federal AI systems, and introducing the "Clean Cloud Act" to regulate the environmental impact of AI and cryptocurrency infrastructure.
Mark your calendars—our next SciTech meeting is on May 5!
Until next time.
Radhika Kunnel
Breakthrough Brief
NIST Wants Your Input: Help Shape the Updated Privacy Framework 1.1
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released the Initial Public Draft of the Privacy Framework Version 1.1, aiming to enhance privacy risk management and align more closely with the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0. This update addresses the evolving landscape of privacy concerns, particularly in the context of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).
Key Enhancements in Privacy Framework 1.1: Alignment with CSF 2.0: The updated framework realigns its Core structure to mirror that of CSF 2.0, facilitating integrated management of privacy and cybersecurity risks.
Focus on AI and Privacy Risks: A new section discusses the intersection of AI technologies and privacy, providing guidance on managing associated risks.
Enhanced Usability: Usability improvements include relocating usage guidelines to an interactive online FAQ, allowing for more accessible and up-to-date information.
NIST is seeking public feedback on this draft until June 13, 2025. Stakeholders are encouraged to review the draft and submit comments to contribute to the development of the final version. For more information and to access the draft, visit the NIST Privacy Framework website here.
Section Spotlight
We feature an interview from our community every month. Please reply if you would like to be featured.
For this issue, we feature Brent Resh, a local attorney specializing in IP and business law. You can check out his website to learn more.
What interests you most about Science and Technology in Nevada?
I’m most interested in how legal norms in intellectual property law will need to adapt to AI technology, specifically in copyright law. Nevada provides a flexible and accessible legal space for new entrepreneurs to start up their ventures. Nevada lawyers are accessible and Nevada law provides a compelling case for any new start up—incorporate here! Our legal environment wants you here! Will AI scraping be held a fair use? I believe that AI is essentially creating derivative works in new ways that we’ve never seen before and perhaps don’t fully understand—how this won’t involve licensing fees for the data sets and content scraped is beyond me. Copyright will need to adapt to decide this issue. I’m new to the section but am most interested in how technology guides and changes the experience of the practice of law, both from a client perspective and from a lawyer’s perspective. AI is changing the lawyer’s role in all fields and will continue to do so. I want to be on the cutting edge of that wave in Nevada.
Community Calendar
We have our next meeting on May 5, Cinco de Mayo, at 4:30 pm. Join us on Zoom.
Also, if your schedule is free, join us in June 12-13 at the Nevada bar conference in DC!