California Tests Whether AI Can Cross Professional Licensing Lines

California’s top consumer regulator, Rohit Chopra, is exploring whether artificial intelligence can fall under existing professional licensing laws. This investigation, conducted by the Business and Consumer Services Agency (BCSA), aims to determine if AI systems, such as chatbots, could be performing functions usually reserved for licensed professionals, like medicine or financial services.

Chopra’s announcement comes from his blog post on August 31, where he stated the agency would scrutinize how businesses utilize new technologies to prevent harming consumers and undermining legal protections. The focus of this investigation is on what the technology does rather than the AI itself. This approach could transform long-standing licensing laws into a new tool for regulating AI systems as they become increasingly autonomous.

California has already implemented laws restricting AI systems from falsely claiming professional credentials. This move could extend to a broader range of sectors overseen by the BCSA, including financial services, real estate, and professional services. Companies using advanced AI must now map their system capabilities against professional licensing statutes to determine which decisions require human involvement and whether third-party AI vendors are performing regulated activities.

This strategy could reshape how AI is approached by regulators, using existing licensing statutes rather than new AI-specific laws.