Mass. ‘Future Booth’ gives residents a direct line to lawmakers as state debates AI safeguards

Massachusetts lawmakers are debating legislation that would put safeguards in place for artificial intelligence developers, as residents weigh the potential benefits and risks of the fast-moving technology.

Local educator and activist Ari Rosenthal is giving residents an old-school way to make their voices heard: a phone booth where they can call lawmakers directly.

Rosenthal has set up the “Future Booth” in communities around Boston. Visitors can plug in their phones and share their views about AI with state legislators.

“We call it the Future Booth,” said Rosenthal. “It is inviting people to come in and call their representatives around an AI regulation bill that is in the Massachusetts legislature right now.”

The booth includes phone numbers for six legislators involved in deciding the fate of the bill. Rosenthal encourages residents to call and share their concerns and perspectives on AI.

“It’s going fast like everything does,” said Beverly of Cambridge. “Fast, fast, fast. You don’t have a chance to think about it. You don’t have a chance to know whether it’s good or bad.”

“I do have ideas, but I do ask AI for more ideas, said Yael Funkelstein, a student.

“My friends had, like cases of AI images of them, and I think that’s wrong and completely not okay,” said Tamara Funkelstein.

“There are concerns about regenerative AI where AI is rebuilding itself and stuff,” said Mark Mondol of Cambridge. “And it does have the ability to control lots of things that would not be pleasant if it decided to not run the way that we would like them to run.”

Rosenthal says the booth has hosted well over 1,000 conversations about AI and Senate Bill 3228, which includes AI safety and transparency provisions aimed at large AI developers. A teacher and co-founder of the Massachusetts AI Action Network, Rosenthal says the effort is not anti-AI, but focused on safe AI.

“No matter how excited you are about AI, the vast majority of people also have concerns,” said Rosenthal. “Just in the same way you might love the freedom of having a car, you still want airbags.”

Rosenthal says the lack of federal regulation has put more attention on states to address issues including public safety, mandatory reporting, third-party audits, and transparency.

“Really boils down to how are these being developed, how are we making sure they’re safe, and creating baseline standards so that more and more can be built upon it to have a safe society with developing technology,” said Rosenthal.

Critics argue additional regulation could slow innovation, increase costs, and make Massachusetts less attractive to AI businesses. Rosenthal says that regardless of how residents feel about the technology, their voices should be part of the debate.

“People’s opinions matter,” said Rosenthal. “I think this is a larger point about our democracy in general, but I think especially around the issue of AI, it is so technical that a lot of people feel frozen, but this does impact your life. Your concerns matter. And engaging in conversation with your friends, coworkers around this issue really does make a difference.”

The bill went into conference committee in September, with its final outcome dependent on negotiations between House and Senate lawmakers.

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