ArkansasAI regulation

Regulation Status

• Arkansas has not enacted a comprehensive or risk-based AI statute and instead addresses artificial intelligence through narrow, targeted measures passed in its 2025 regular session. Its most distinctive action is Arkansas Code Title 18-4-101, which sets default ownership rules for generative AI: the person who provides the input or directive owns generated content if it does not infringe existing IP rights; the person providing lawful data or input to train a model owns the resulting trained model unless ownership is transferred by contract; and an employer owns content or models created by an employee directed to use generative AI as part of their duties. No enforcement mechanism is specified.
• The state's other AI-specific measure is HB1877, which amended Arkansas's child sexual abuse material statutes to cover AI-generated images that are indistinguishable from the image of a child participating or engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Existing criminal penalties apply to the expanded conduct. Beyond these two laws, Arkansas has not enacted deepfake-in-elections, automated-decision, or frontier-model legislation, and it has no general AI governance framework for state agencies as of mid-2026.
• Executive and agency developments: AI in Arkansas Government Effectiveness report (September 2025): The AI and Analytics Center of Excellence recommends secure productivity assistants, operational analytics, fraud and error detection, and improved digital services. The report links adoption to enterprise data governance and measurable public-service outcomes. Its publication date is specified only to the month.