SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three bills Tuesday to crack down on the use of artificial intelligence to create false images or videos in political ads ahead of the 2024 election.

A new law, set to take effect immediately, makes it illegal to create and publish deepfakes related to elections 120 days before Election Day and 60 days thereafter. It also allows courts to stop distribution of the materials and impose civil penalties.

“Safeguarding the integrity of elections is essential to democracy, and it’s critical that we ensure AI is not deployed to undermine the public’s trust through disinformation -– especially in today’s fraught political climate,” Newsom said in a statement. “These measures will help to combat the harmful use of deepfakes in political ads and other content, one of several areas in which the state is being proactive to foster transparent and trustworthy AI.”

Read more here California governor signs laws to crack down on election deepfakes created by AI

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Hello my people.

First let me say… I’m a Libertarian… and that is why I worry about AI and where it is taking us.

I’m going to say something that might upset some people… yet I’m going to say it anyway… it’s not something written in stone… more a work in progress… Thinking… pondering out loud and I will be happy to hear other people’s thoughts about it as in my opinion it is one of the Biggest questions of our times… it has to do with AI and protecting Individual rights… and democracy… and defending Truth. It has to do with how fast technology is being developed… and deployed… with almost no public discussion… little debate… and virtually no legal protections of rights.
Companies and governments are taking full advantage of *the vacuum* of Public discourse that might lead to the formulation *of Rules*… *of Laws* that might prevent Governments and businesses utilizing Technology as they currently are using it and or plan to use it… eg a cashless society, digital currency based upon Digital Identification using such things as retina scans… and now I’m getting to the thorny part… AI generated ‘videos’ that Take a persons *image* … indistinguishable from them… add their voice in their exact tones… and proceed to produce a fraudulent video (maybe having sex) or whatever.
Most people here on X will have already linked what I’m saying to the New Law made by California Governor Newsom which makes it illegal to make what he calls ‘Fake AI Election videos’.
All the way from the top (Elon Musk) people have mocked him for this saying he’s ‘violating free speech’… ‘making humour illegal’ etc… the idea being that the use of AI in this way is no different that someone drawing a cartoon or acting in a satirical spoof… yet I’m not so sure.
I worry this attitude fails to grasp just how dangerous AI is in this type of domain… how it might *really be used for serious Frauds… frame ups… and yes… to pervert democracy.
I wonder if lets say there had been time for a thorough public discourse that what AI really represents might be better understood… and rules put in place to protect freedom… protect truth… and curtain frightening powers from being deployed against the citizenry?
I’m wondering if there is a fundamental difference between Cartoons/ traditional satire etc… and the Use of AI which can be indistinguishable from real life?
Has a line been crossed?

Image from here

Do we fundamentally have a right to… own our own image/name? (as distinguishable from a drawing or a lookalike?)
Ie is it false to say banning election AI videos is a violation of freedom? Could it not instead be a very essential protection of individual rights necessary to enact in law now that Pandora’s box has been opened?
Could it be that all AI videos should lawfully carry an AI icon in the corner to make it clear these videos are computer generated and not real recordings?
Maybe that is what is needed to cage this beast that is about to run amok and be used and abused by the powerful and unscrupulous alike?
Come on people… surely I can’t be the only one who can see that anarchy is prevailing at present… and that that is what people like the WEF are happy about because it means they can set up their tyrannical systems free from any bothersome legal restrictions founded upon individual rights!

I am certainly no Newsom fan… yet I dare to ask the question whether he was actually right about this one.

I open the floor to comments…

Tim Wikiriwhi.
Christian Libertarian.

Update: 3-10-24

Interesting judgement. Re: the question whether AI needs stronger Legal framework to prevent rights violations…
Perhaps Newsom’s law was too broad… yet should it be more refined… or thrown out completely?
Tim W