Editor’s note: Sacramento Snapshot is a weekly series during the legislative session detailing what Orange County’s representatives in the Assembly and Senate are working on — from committee work to bill passages and more.
Much has been discussed about how artificial intelligence is being used to do homework or potentially take over jobs.
But what happens in California if someone uses AI for something even more nefarious, such as creating and distributing pornography using someone’s likeness without their consent?
Assemblymember Tri Ta, R-Westminster, wants to make that a crime punishable by up to one year in county jail or a fine of up to $1,000.
It’s already a crime in California to distribute images, meant to be private, of another person without their consent — often referred to as “revenge porn.” And a 2019 bill signed into law created a pathway for victims to sue someone who created sexually explicit or exposing content that he or she did not create or consent to, like photo-shopping their face on pornographic material.
But Ta’s goal is to catch existing law up with quickly emerging technology and expand it to include audio or visual media that falsely depicts, through the use of AI, someone engaging in sexual conduct without their permission.
The legislation, Ta said, will help people “protect their lives” as AI technology expands. Over the last few months, Ta said, his office has received multiple complaints related to the issue of AI nonconsensual image sharing.
“As with any new innovative technology, artificial intelligence can improve people’s lives,” Ta said.
“However, AI can be, and has been, weaponized to inflict harm.”
Scheduled for a hearing in the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee next week, the legislation is meant to cover “deep fakes,” meaning content that has been digitally altered, generally maliciously, that is sexually explicit or otherwise pornographic in nature.
“Deep fakes, for example,…
Read the full article here
