Jason Pellerin AI Solutionist

In the legal and business world, "reasonable care" is often a gray area. But under the Colorado AI Act (SB 24-205), the state has provided a surprisingly clear roadmap for building a legal shield. It’s called the Affirmative Defense, and it hinges on a single, powerful framework: the NIST AI Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0).

Under the Colorado AI Act (SB 24-205), firms are required to exercise "reasonable care" to avoid algorithmic discrimination. In a courtroom, a PDF saying "we don't discriminate" is a weak defense. A technical log showing a Sovereign Intelligent Runtime that physically blocked a biased output is an Affirmative Defense.

The most dangerous aspect of waiting until 2026 to audit your AI systems is the Forensic Trail. Under the Colorado AI Act, "Reasonable Care" is not a checkbox; it is a documented history of governance.If the Colorado Attorney General’s office initiates an investigation on July 1, 2026, you must be able to produce: A documented history of impact assessments. Evidence of data governance measures. A record of how "consequential decisions" were monitored.