Bill 588.

Summary.

The bill establishes an adaptive governance framework for artificial intelligence systems in Panama. It defines a system, impact, safeguards, and regulatory experimentation. It would cover uses that significantly influence decisions concerning rights, opportunities, access, treatment, or well-being in academic, public, and private sectors. Application would vary with impact, context, and risk. The bill sets principles concerning the protection of rights, proportionality, transparency, participation, traceability, safe experimentation, and continuous learning. Authorities would assess effects on rights, conduct, and access to services, as well as the scale, duration, and reversibility of those effects, affected persons’ vulnerability, and the available human control.

The National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, SENACYT) would issue guidance for classifying systems as having low, moderate, high, or critical impact and for determining safeguards and oversight. Critical-impact systems could face strict restrictions, special authorization, or prohibition. SENACYT would coordinate experimentation spaces to develop requirements from evidence. The bill requires measures against manipulation throughout a system’s life cycle, meaningful human oversight of high- or critical-impact decisions, and understandable information about decisions affecting fundamental rights. Individuals could challenge such decisions and seek their review and correction through institutional mechanisms. SENACYT would also promote scientific research and technological development.

Authorities would establish frameworks for testing technologies, governance models, and safeguards under controlled or gradual conditions. The contemplated mechanisms include guidance hubs for innovators, technical test environments, public policy laboratories and prototypes, an institutional experimentation framework, and regulatory or innovation sandboxes. Each mechanism would include protection of rights, objectives, metrics, entry and exit conditions, traceability, and monitoring. Authorities could allow temporary, supervised flexibility concerning administrative, technical, or procedural requirements in spaces coordinated by SENACYT, without suspending or limiting the fundamental rights recognized by the bill.

Each experimental project would specify its objectives, scope, learning hypotheses, rules under examination, risks, safeguards, metrics, and exit plan. Its results would be documented to inform regulatory and sectoral adjustments. Public and private sectors, academia, civil society, and affected individuals would participate. Public and private organizations could request guidance and propose tests of rules, procedures, or safeguards, subject to evaluation and approval. Public entities using these systems would apply reinforced protections in coordination with the National Authority for Government Innovation (Autoridad Nacional para la Innovación Gubernamental) and prioritize experimentation before generally adopting high-impact solutions.

The bill assigns institutional coordination, priority setting, and oversight of implementation to the National Commission for Regulatory Experimentation (Comisión Nacional de Experimentación Regulatoria). Its members would represent the National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation, the National Public Services Authority (Autoridad Nacional de los Servicios Públicos), the National Authority for Government Innovation, the National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information (Autoridad Nacional de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información), and the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional). The Commission would evaluate experimental processes; SENACYT would issue technical guidance and organize their findings. Authorities would exchange information and coordinate decisions, while the State would promote international cooperation. The bill also establishes duties to learn continuously, use evidence, and review rules and procedures. The State would have three years from enactment to evaluate the experimentation framework, prioritize sectoral regulations, and publish a report. The proposed law would take effect upon promulgation. Its provisions could concern those public bodies, academic, technology, and private sectors, service users, and people affected by decisions assisted by artificial intelligence.