Robert Maddox Quoted in Bank Director on State Lawmakers Drafting AI Governing Measures

Bradley attorney Robert Maddox was quoted in Bank Director on the patchwork of state laws that have been introduced to help govern artificial intelligence (AI) usage. Financial institutions must follow states’ quickly evolving demands, as lawmakers try to guard against privacy risks and AI-based discrimination.

“It’s smart to go ahead and be in front of all of these,” said Maddox, adding that banks may need to budget more toward AI compliance as more states tackle the issue.

The past few sessions offer some clues on where states will go. Action is taking place in both red and blue states, with California, Colorado, Nebraska, Utah and Texas all passing AI measures. There are some exemptions available for banks and credit unions, butlawyers note they’ll need to carefully examine whether and how they apply.

Banks need to be “extremely proactive,” Maddox said. They don’t just need to review whether their own operations comply with the evolving state frameworks — but also whether the vendors they work with do too. That includes reviewing vendor contracts to ensure they’re routinely disclosing their uses of AI and whether they’re compliant, he explained.

“It is going to be a wonderful technology to assist financial institutions,” Maddox said of AI, but it’s also “going to be quite a lift” for compliance and risk teams to track the quickly shifting legal picture. 

The full article, “Tracking the Patchwork of State AI Laws,” was published by Bank Director on August 28, 2025.