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Here’s what’s unlawful beneath California’s 8 (and counting) new AI legal guidelines | TechCrunch

California’s 5 new AI laws crack down on election deepfakes and actor clones


California Governor Gavin Newsom is at present 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 tackle probably the most urgent points in synthetic intelligence: the whole lot from futuristic AI programs creating existential danger, deepfake nudes from AI picture turbines, to Hollywood studios creating AI clones of lifeless performers.

“Dwelling to the vast majority of the world’s main AI firms, California is working to harness these transformative applied sciences to assist tackle urgent challenges whereas finding out the dangers they current,” stated Governor Newsom’s workplace in a press launch.

To this point, Governor Newsom has signed eight of them into regulation, a few of that are America’s most far reaching AI legal guidelines but.

Deepfake nudes

Newsom signed two legal guidelines that tackle the creation and unfold of deepfake nudes on Thursday. SB 926 creates a brand new crime in California, making it unlawful to blackmail somebody with AI-generated nude photos that resemble them.

SB 981, which additionally turned regulation on Thursday, requires social media platforms to determine channels for customers to report deepfake nudes that resemble them. The content material should then be briefly blocked whereas the platform investigates it, and completely eliminated if confirmed.

Watermarks

Additionally on Thursday, Newsom signed a invoice into regulation to assist the general public establish AI-generated content material. SB 942 requires broadly used generative AI programs to reveal they’re AI-generated of their content material’s provenance information. 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.

One in all California’s new legal guidelines, AB 2655, requires giant 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 isn’t complying with the act.

One other regulation, AB 2839, takes intention at social media customers who put up, or repost, AI deepfakes that would deceive voters about upcoming elections. The regulation went into impact instantly on Tuesday, and Newsom advised Elon Musk could also be liable to violating it.

AI-generated political commercials now require outright disclosures beneath California’s new regulation, AB 2355. Which means transferring ahead, Trump might not have the ability to get away with posting AI deepfakes of Taylor Swift endorsing him on Fact Social (she endorsed Kamala Harris). The FCC has proposed an identical 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 business. AB 2602 requires studios to receive 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 latest “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 top of September. Throughout a chat with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on Tuesday in the course of the 2024 Dreamforce convention, Newsom might have tipped his hat about SB 1047, and the way he’s interested by regulating the AI business extra broadly.

“There’s one invoice that’s kind of outsized when it comes to public discourse and consciousness; it’s this SB 1047,” stated Newsom onstage Tuesday. “What are the demonstrable dangers in AI and what are the hypothetical dangers? I can’t remedy for the whole lot. What can we remedy for? And in order that’s the strategy we’re taking throughout the spectrum on this.”

Examine again on this text for updates on what AI legal guidelines California’s governor indicators, and what he doesn’t.