Florida and AI Governance: What Actually Exists — and What It Means for Business

In this episode of the Macro AI Podcast, Gary and Scott clarify what actually exists in Florida regarding artificial intelligence governance — and what does not. 

While some discussions reference a “Florida AI Bill of Rights,” there is currently no enacted Florida statute formally titled that. Instead, Florida has passed the Florida Digital Bill of Rights (2023), a consumer data privacy law that includes provisions relevant to profiling and automated data processing. Additionally, the state has addressed AI in specific contexts such as election-related disclosures and government use. 

Gary and Scott separate terminology from law and explain what Florida’s existing legislation means for enterprises deploying AI systems today. 

In this episode, they discuss: 

• What the Florida Digital Bill of Rights covers — and how it intersects with AI 
• How profiling and automated decision-making may trigger compliance obligations 
• The difference between proposed AI frameworks and enacted statutes 
• How state-level developments interact with federal guidance such as the NIST AI Risk Management Framework 
• What multi-state enterprises should be doing now to strengthen AI governance 

For CIOs, CISOs, HR leaders, general counsel, and board members, this conversation provides a clear, fact-based overview of Florida’s current legal landscape and the broader direction of AI regulation in the United States. 

As AI adoption accelerates, governance maturity — including transparency, documentation, and oversight — is becoming an operational expectation, not just a regulatory response. 

About your AI Guides

Gary Sloper

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsloper/

Scott Bryan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjbryan/

Macro AI Website: 

https://www.macroaipodcast.com/

Macro AI LinkedIn Page:  

https://www.linkedin.com/company/macro-ai-podcast/

Gary's Free AI Readiness Assessment:

https://macronetservices.com/events/the-comprehensive-guide-to-ai-readiness

Scott's Content & Blog

https://www.macronomics.ai/blog

Transcript

00:57
Welcome back to the Macro AI podcast.  In season one, episode 56, we discussed the broader evolution of AI regulation from the EU AI Act to federal executive orders and the growing governance landscape in the United States. But today we're running our focus to Florida to highlight the difference between what's happening at the federal level.

01:23
and then the patchwork of state specific laws that businesses have to navigate. Recently, you may have seen references to something called Florida's AI Bill of Rights. So the first thing we wanted to do in this episode is to clarify what actually exists and what does not since we have received a few questions around this particular ah category recently. There is currently no enacted Florida statute formally titled the

01:52
quote unquote, AI Bill of Rights.  What does exist are regulated legislative actions, policy discussions, and a broader digital rights legislation that affect AI deployment in meaningful ways.  So our goal today is to separate terminology from law and then discuss what Florida-based regulatory activity means for enterprises deploying AI systems.

02:20
Yeah, exactly, Gary. I think this is a good follow on to episode 56, like you said, ah because Florida is just another example of how states are forming their own legal frameworks specific to AI. So as  of today, uh Florida  has passed what they call the Florida Digital Bill of Rights.  And they passed that way back in 2023 in AI terms. That's a long time ago. And what that did was it addressed consumer data privacy.

02:50
and it includes provisions that  touch on uh automated processing  and automated profiling.  There have also been AI-related bills that have been introduced, uh including measures addressing the government use of AI  and election-related disclosures. But there's not a comprehensive standalone AI governance regime in Florida equivalent to the EU AI Act. And I think that distinction is important.

03:19
Yeah, that's a good point. I think sometimes  these types of headlines get lost in translation and manipulated by uh folks kind of down the line of what they thought they heard. So maybe what we do is we walk through what is actually in place.  to your point, the 2023 Florida digital Bill of Rights legislation really primarily focuses on consumer data privacy.  It applies to  certain large businesses operating in the state of Florida.

03:49
And then it establishes requirements around things like data collection, profiling, and consumer rights. ah Some of its provisions  are relevant to  artificial intelligence systems.  So if you think of things when AI is used for profiling or automated decision making that ultimately produces  legal or similarly significant effects from that system. So that means

04:18
If an organization uses AI to uh evaluate consumers for eligibility of something, uh maybe a mortgage or insurance, uh conduct targeted advertising based on profiling. uh The other one that you can think of is uh automate certain types of consequential decisions. So could be your credit, credit card application or things along those lines.

04:44
There may be obligations tied to data transparency and consumer rights here,  but wanted to make sure we kind of set the stage of what's actually there and what's not. Yeah, perfect. And  separately, uh Florida passed legislation requiring disclosure of certain AI-generated content specific to election-related  situations.  And there are additional proposals on the table and discussions around government use of AI

05:14
and algorithmic transparency. But again, there's not uh an actual consolidated AI Bill of Rights statute per  se that creates a  broad cross-sector AI regulatory framework specific to that state. uh So, know, just kind of talk about why the confusion came up. think part of it comes from terminology. And so the phrase AI Bill of Rights, in  quotes, has been used at the federal level

05:43
for a while, most notably by the White House Office of  Science and Technology Policy in the blueprint that they put together for an AI Bill of Rights. That federal document is guidance,  but it's not a binding law. And then at the state level, similar language is sometimes used in legislative proposals or media descriptions, ah even when the underlying bills are  much narrower in scope than what was included in that  AI Bill of Rights from

06:13
from the technology and policy office. So as business executives, it's important to really distinguish between what are conceptual frameworks, what is proposed legislation, and what are actually enacted statutes. And those are very different levels of regulatory impact on your business, but you do have to understand and pay attention to all of them and know exactly where they fit, because obviously some of them will become enacted statutes that you're gonna have to abide by.

06:43
Yeah. And I think we talked about that on one of our early episodes of just paying attention because to your point, there will be a practical business impact even without a comprehensive AI statute there or, you know, in any of the other States for that matter that may or may not exist. There are still meaningful implications for organizations, for example, operating in Florida. If your AI system relies on consumer data and profiling,

07:11
the Florida Digital Bill of Rights may create obligations around things that you need to be aware of, such as disclosures, opt-out rights, ah data processing transparency. So if you are operating in  specific regulated sectors in that state of Florida, ah think of verticals such as health care or financial services or federal frameworks, ah which come primary to mind. ah

07:40
But state level data rights  legislation can layer additional requirements here. So you may have federal requirements, but you also have to pay attention to the state requirements. No different in a lot of these sectors.  If you're in a medical profession or ah you need certain level of licensing at the state level, this is just going to become a little bit deeper because  AI will continue to transform. So it's something that you do need to be aware of for these  potential business impacts.

08:10
Exactly. And I think from a overall business governance perspective, I think the trend is  pretty clear. So even in states without comprehensive AI statutes, legislative activity is certainly on the rise. And the direction of travel is toward more transparency  around any kind of automated decision-making. So if your business tools, your products have automated decision-making built into them, ah be aware that legislation is coming.

08:39
So while Florida does not currently have a standalone AI regulatory regime,  businesses shouldn't interpret that as a lack of ah oversight risk. There are laws  and things you need to be aware of. Yeah, exactly. Especially if they enact a law and go backwards. So I think the takeaway here ah from a strategy standpoint for business leaders, ah the responsible position

09:06
for you all is not to wait for a formal AI statute to be enacted or implemented. ah Or for that matter, to assume that certain states  are positioning, wait for the federal level regulations to happen. ah I would recommend instead organizations should do a few things. Inventory your AI use cases so you have a good understanding. uh Understand where profiling or automated decision making is occurring. And if it's not occurring,

09:35
Okay, that's good to know. Align your governance practices with frameworks like NIST, uh AI risk management. I think that's an important one.  And lastly, ensure your vendor contracts reflect AI transparency expectations. Make sure that they're not potentially exposed here because if they have an issue and you're depending upon them for your business, and they suddenly can't support you, that's a risk to your organization, even if you're not falling into

10:05
automated decision making scenarios like profiling, for example. uh So I think that approach  prepares you for evolving both at the state and federal level, regardless of your jurisdiction. Yeah. Yeah. I think another way to look at it, take away from today's episode is that almost every state is moving to ensure that AI is regulated in the ways that they see fit.  And uh you should know that the frameworks are all still developing.

10:35
And  just to answer some of the follow-up questions that we received. So right now, Florida does not currently have a law formally tied to the AI Bill of Rights. However, Florida has enacted digital rights legislation that affects data processing and profiling, and it has participated in broader AI-related legislative discussions. Their focus is heavy on transparency and consumer protections related to automated decision-making. That's kind of the path that a lot of other states are starting to go.

11:04
Yeah, I think that is  an excellent takeaway. And I'll add that the regulatory landscape is developing, but need to be aware of what's happening in each state that you operate in as well, not just the state that you're headquartered in. So if you're doing business in other states that may have some things that are  on the docket ah or other discussions, be aware of that. ah

11:30
I think this is a good way to kind of wrap for the episode. As always, our goal is to help executives stay up to date on operational  reality since  things like governance  and the maturity around governance is about understanding what is enacted, what is proposed and what is likely coming next. So hopefully you enjoyed today's  quick episode on Florida and state laws. Thank you for listening to the Macquarie podcast and please like and subscribe. You can find us online at the

12:00
Macraeipodcast.com website or on LinkedIn.  And until next time, we'll see you soon.  Thank you.