Governance

Public entity

Arkansas state or local government bodies covered by the law.

How the laws define this

Both regulatory frameworks agree that public entities comprise governmental authorities across state or regional and local levels, including departments, agencies, and local political subdivisions. However, the instruments diverge fundamentally in how they regulate artificial intelligence for these bodies. Arkansas HB 1958 (Act 848) explicitly includes educational institutions and special districts, obligating public entities to develop, implement, and publicly share policies governing AI and automated decision tools. In contrast, Project 6927/2023 (06927) references bodies under Law No. 27444—including legislative, judicial, executive, regional, and local entities—and focuses on mandating the actual adoption of AI in public service delivery and administrative activity. While Arkansas HB 1958 imposes governance and policy obligations on public entities regarding AI usage, Project 6927/2023 obliges the active implementation and operational use of artificial intelligence by the targeted public bodies.

Synthesised from the 2 statutory definitions below. Each one is quoted in full, with its source.

How jurisdictions differ

What is distinctive in each definition, binding law in force first.

Jurisdiction	Instrument	Status	What is distinctive
Arkansas, United States	Arkansas HB 1958 — Public Entity AI Policy Requirements (Act 848)	In Force	This definition explicitly lists state departments, agencies, boards, commissions, educational institutions, and political subdivisions like counties, cities, and special districts.
Peru	Project 6927/2023 (06927) — Bill that would oblige the use of Artificial Intelligence in public entities	Under Review	This definition references specific bodies listed in Article I of the Title Preliminar of Law No. 27444, including executive, legislative, judicial, regional, and local entities.

What it triggers

In Arkansas, public entities must develop, implement, and make publicly available AI and automated decision tool policies.source
In Peru, public entities would be required to adopt artificial intelligence tools in administrative activity and public service delivery.source

Definitions (2)

Public entity encompasses state departments, agencies, boards, commissions, educational institutions (including higher education), and political subdivisions such as counties, cities, and special districts within Arkansas. These bodies are required to develop, implement, and make publicly available AI and automated decision tool policies under the Act.

Arkansas HB 1958 — Public Entity AI Policy Requirements (Act 848)Definition 1 of 2

The set of bodies listed in Article I of the Title Preliminar of Law No. 27444, encompassing executive, legislative, judicial, regional and local entities and related public bodies; these are the actors the bill targets for mandatory AI adoption in administrative activity and public service delivery.

Project 6927/2023 (06927) — Bill that would oblige the use of Artificial Intelligence in public entitiesDefinition 2 of 2

Not to be confused with

Public sector entity

Public sector entity refers to institutions and bodies in Ontario's public sector covered by EDSTA, while public entity here specifies Arkansas or Peruvian public bodies under their respective laws.

Public-sector AI

Public-sector AI refers to AI systems deployed by federal agencies for public services, whereas public entity denotes the government bodies themselves subject to AI policies or adoption mandates.

Questions and answers

What counts as a public entity in Arkansas HB 1958?

Public entities include state departments, agencies, boards, commissions, educational institutions including higher education, and political subdivisions such as counties, cities, and special districts.

What must public entities do under Arkansas HB 1958?

Public entities must develop, implement, and make publicly available policies on AI and automated decision tools.

What does public entity mean in the Peruvian bill?

Public entities are those listed in Article I of the Title Preliminar of Law No. 27444, including executive, legislative, judicial, regional, and local entities and related public bodies.