Schumer says he will prioritize bills on AI election misinformation

September 13, 2023 06:11 PM

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he intended to push for legislation related to artificial intelligence-powered election misinformation before other priorities as the 2024 presidential election approaches.

Schumer alluded to his desire to introduce election-related AI regulations during a Wednesday press conference with reporters after his AI Insight forum. The New York senator said that he had discussed the subject of watermarking, or adding digital signatures to images to reveal their origin, with the nearly 20 technology leaders he met with. He also asked about deepfakes, or digitally altered images designed to confuse the viewer.

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Legislation related to AI and election misinformation “has a quicker timetable than the others, and that’s very important to do,” Schumer said. Schumer previously said that he intended to pass some form of AI-related legislation within “months,” although he declined to set an exact timetable.

Technology companies have already been preparing for the trend of AI-generated campaign ads. Google updated its advertising policy on Sept. 6 to require political ads to disclose if they contain AI-generated images.

The Federal Election Commission voted in August to publish a petition that would amend the agency’s definition of “fraudulent misrepresentation” to include deepfakes.

At least two presidential candidates have used AI-generated images in their political campaigns. Former President Donald Trump published images featuring AI-generated pictures of himself, while Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) posted an ad featuring AI-created pictures of Trump hugging Anthony Fauci.

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Deepfakes have also been used in the Russia-Ukraine war to try and convince the Ukrainians that their president had declared peace.

More than 60 senators attended Schumer’s AI insight forum, where nearly two dozen Silicon Valley leaders offered their perspectives on the new technology and how Congress should establish guardrails for it.

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