A bill that seeks to expand the Colorado General Assembly's task force on facial recognition technology narrowly passed through committee amid concerns that it overly broadens the task force's size and scope or that it's not expansive enough to include key industries.

House Bill 1468 increases the size of the Task Force for the Consideration of Facial Recognition Services, established by a 2022 law, from 15 to 17 members. One new member must be an expert in generative artificial intelligence technology and the other in social media, biometric technology, or artificial intelligence.

The bill also replaces a member from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation with an advocate for youth safety and privacy.

When it was first created, the task force was charged with examining "the extent to which state and local governments are currently using facial recognition services" and with providing recommendations about the extent to which agencies should be allowed to do so.

In its October 2023 report to the Joint Technology Committee, the task force recommended expanding its focus to include the examination of artificial intelligence and biometric technology usage, not only by governmental bodies but also by other entities.

HB 1468 would implement those recommendations and change the name of the task force to the "Biometric Technology and Artificial Intelligence Policy Task Force."

Bill sponsor Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, highlighted the rapid advancements in technology since the task force's inception two years ago. A member of the facial recognition task force, she stressed the importance of examining how these emerging technologies may be used by entities in the state.

However, some stakeholders argued that expanding the scope of the task force could lead it astray from its original purpose.

Anaya Robinson, a representative of ACLU and a member of the task force, said expanding the task force beyond government use of the technology is "entirely too much." Robinson said he was concerned that diverting the task force's attention to all applications of artificial intelligence and biotechnology might detract from its primary focus on government usage, which is a paramount concern for many.

Some Democratic members of the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee also expressed apprehension regarding the bill's proposed expansions, alongside concerns about potential biases inherent in facial recognition and artificial intelligence technologies.

Rep. Naquetta Ricks of Aurora emphasized what he described as instances of racial bias in facial recognition technology, particularly against Black individuals. She cited a study indicating a 35% error rate of facial recognition technology on the Black community, as well as a May 2023 Scientific American article that said law enforcement uses facial recognition that is often unable to tell Black people apart.

"That is a real big problem if we're gonna be expanding the scope of this (task force)," she said. "(Facial recognition technology) can be used to accuse people of crimes they did not commit, and we certainly have enough issues within certain communities where we're disproportionately represented, and we don't need this additional problem I'm very concerned about — the use of AI in this state — and I want to know how this type of problem will be addressed and how the task force will handle these issues."

Ricks advocated for the inclusion of a task force member from a community of color with expertise in racial bias within artificial intelligence systems. Meanwhile, Rep. Sheila Lieder, D-Littleton, voiced support for including a consumer advocate on the task force.

Rep. Chad Clifford, D-Centennial, said he is very familiar with facial recognition technology, as he and his husband own a security system company. He is concerned that the security industry isn't represented on the task force, as he believed it uses facial recognition technology more than most industries.

He also expressed a desire for more stakeholder engagement: "If you're looking at protecting Coloradans from what we're gonna be able to do with AI and biometrics and facial recognition, I'm not comfortable rushing this."

Bill sponsor Rep. Ron Weinberg, R-Loveland, acknowledged the concerns about bias and said it is the task force's job to further investigate and try to find ways to avoid it, with the help of experts in the field.

Titone added that the task force wants the industry to work alongside them, not to engage in a "tug-of-war."

"The one thing that is very clear to us as a legislative body, as well as the industry is that this is a very evolving technology, and when we are trying to get ahead of it, when we find things that are misused or not being done right, we have to keep trying to catch up with that," she said.

The bill passed through committee on a 6-5 vote. All three Republicans on the committee voted in favor, as did Reps. Tisha Mauro, D-Pueblo, and Ricks.