Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier addressed the Hope Florida grand jury report and Florida Realtors has contributed $10 million to the political committee Yes on 3 to support the passage of Amendment 3.
Florida attorney general addresses Hope Florida report, plan for AI legislation
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier addressed the Hope Florida grand jury report and outlined a plan for artificial intelligence legislation during a news conference in the Tampa Bay Area.
He criticized a Democratic state attorney in Tallahassee and accused him of pursuing a politically motivated case against the DeSantis administration.
“A Democrat state attorney in Tallahassee, he weaponized the judicial system to bring a politically motivated case against the DeSantis administration,” Uthmeier said. “He abused his office.”
Uthmeier said that after a jury found no reason to move forward, confidential documents were released.
“He allowed the Democrats and the media to collude and release his confidential documents,” Uthmeier said. “This is wrong. And it happened during election season.”
Uthmeier said he believes the situation was “either a significant abuse of power or gross incompetence.” He also said he could not answer additional legal questions about the issue, referring to comments he made in previous weeks.
Uthmeier also said his office wants to bring forward legislation that would allow the state to hold AI or tech companies responsible if their programs are used in the commission of crimes. He said the effort is aimed at protecting Floridians from negative impacts of artificial intelligence.
“AI is here, whether we like it or not, it is here. It is the future,” Uthmeier said. “We want AI to facilitate mankind. We want AI to advance mankind, to give us the tools to be successful.”
Uthmeier said the proposal is not a ban on AI. He said the state must compete globally while also addressing potential harms.
“We must hold ChatGPT and others that commit crimes. We must hold them accountable,” Uthmeier said.
Uthmeier said he expects to issue a new round of subpoenas against tech leaders in the coming weeks. He previously issued subpoenas for OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman.
Uthmeier cited several examples of AI-related concerns, including potential addictive features and cases where he said AI provided Floridians with false medical information.
Florida Realtors invests $3 million in Amendment 3 support
Florida Realtors has contributed $10 million to the political committee Yes on 3 to support the passage of Amendment 3 ahead of Election Day.
The contribution, made this month, is the first major monetary backing for the amendment. Yes on 3 is directly affiliated with the Realtors’ Association.
Amendment 3, a property tax reform measure, will require 60% voter support in November to pass.
Last month, Florida Realtors voiced support for the amendment, saying it “offers voters an opportunity to provide meaningful property tax relief while strengthening Florida’s commitment to attainable homeownership.”