Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández and House of Representatives Speaker Carlos “Johnny” Méndez both told the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI) that artificial intelligence must be regulated, after speaking at the Caribbean AI Summit held October 9 and 10 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan. Hernández said he believes in AI’s potential for Puerto Rico’s economic development but that it must be balanced with security measures.
Méndez said legislation must be precise and specific, warning that open language invites interpretations that let things slip through, and that oversight must work the same way. The summit billed both as “voices moving AI in the Caribbean.” Less than a week later, on October 15, PNP representatives Jorge “Georgie” Navarro Suárez, Jerry Nieves Rosario and Luis J. Jiménez Torres, who did not attend the summit, filed House Bill 1523, which would create the Puerto Rico Computing and Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Development Act to attract data centers and expand existing ones through tax incentives and special permit processes.
It was referred to the House Government Committee. The story notes US midterm elections on November 3, when voters in 10 states decided 41 data center proposals; 40 favored restricting them.