California Governor Gavin Newsom is presently contemplating 38 AI-related payments, together with the extremely contentious SB 1047, which the state’s legislature despatched to his desk for closing approval. These payments attempt to deal with essentially the most urgent points in synthetic intelligence: every thing from futuristic AI methods creating existential threat, deepfake nudes from AI picture turbines, to Hollywood studios creating AI clones of lifeless performers.
“House to nearly all of the world’s main AI firms, California is working to harness these transformative applied sciences to assist deal with urgent challenges whereas finding out the dangers they current,” mentioned Governor Newsom’s workplace in a press launch.
To this point, Governor Newsom has signed eight of them into legislation, a few of that are America’s most far reaching AI legal guidelines but.
Deepfake nudes
Newsom signed two legal guidelines that deal with the creation and unfold of deepfake nudes on Thursday. SB 926 criminalizes the act, making it unlawful to blackmail somebody with AI-generated nude photographs that resemble them.
SB 981, which additionally grew to become legislation on Thursday, requires social media platforms to ascertain channels for customers to report deepfake nudes that resemble them. The content material should then be quickly blocked whereas the platform investigates it, and completely eliminated if confirmed.
Watermarks
Additionally on Thursday, Newsom signed a invoice into legislation to assist the general public determine AI-generated content material. SB 942 requires extensively used generative AI methods to reveal they’re AI-generated of their content material’s provenance information. For instance, all photographs created by OpenAI’s Dall-E now want a bit of tag of their metadata saying they’re AI generated.
Many AI firms already do that, and there are a number of free instruments on the market that may assist folks learn this provenance information and detect AI-generated content material.
Election deepfakes
Earlier this week, California’s governor signed three legal guidelines cracking down on AI deepfakes that would affect elections.
Considered one of California’s new legal guidelines, AB 2655, requires massive on-line platforms, like Fb and X, to take away or label AI deepfakes associated to elections, in addition to create channels to report such content material. Candidates and elected officers can search injunctive aid if a big on-line platform shouldn’t be complying with the act.
One other legislation, AB 2839, takes intention at social media customers who submit, or repost, AI deepfakes that would deceive voters about upcoming elections. The legislation went into impact instantly on Tuesday, and Newsom recommended Elon Musk could also be vulnerable to violating it.
AI-generated political ads now require outright disclosures beneath California’s new legislation, AB 2355. Which means transferring ahead, Trump might not be capable of get away with posting AI deepfakes of Taylor Swift endorsing him on Fact Social (she endorsed Kamala Harris). The FCC has proposed the same disclosure requirement at a nationwide stage and has already made robocalls utilizing AI-generated voices unlawful.
Actors and AI
Two legal guidelines that Newsom signed on Tuesday — which SAG-AFTRA, the nation’s largest movie and broadcast actors union, was pushing for — create new requirements for California’s media trade. AB 2602 requires studios to acquire permission from an actor earlier than creating an AI-generated reproduction of their voice or likeness.
In the meantime, AB 1836 prohibits studios from creating digital replicas of deceased performers with out consent from their estates (e.g., legally cleared replicas have been used within the current “Alien” and “Star Wars” films, in addition to in different movies).
What’s left?
Governor Newsom nonetheless has 30 AI-related payments to resolve on earlier than the tip of September. Throughout a chat with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on Tuesday through the 2024 Dreamforce convention, Newsom might have tipped his hat about SB 1047, and the way he’s interested by regulating the AI trade extra broadly.
“There’s one invoice that’s kind of outsized when it comes to public discourse and consciousness; it’s this SB 1047,” mentioned Newsom onstage Tuesday. “What are the demonstrable dangers in AI and what are the hypothetical dangers? I can’t resolve for every thing. What can we resolve for? And in order that’s the method we’re taking throughout the spectrum on this.”
Test again on this text for updates on what AI legal guidelines California’s governor indicators, and what he doesn’t.
