WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday that would prohibit political campaigns and outside political groups from using artificial intelligence to misrepresent the views of their rivals by pretending to be them.
The introduction of the bill comes as Congress has failed to regulate the fast-evolving technology and experts warn that it threatens to overwhelm voters with misinformation. Those experts have expressed particular concern over the dangers posed by “deepfakes,” AI-generated videos and memes that can look lifelike and cause voters to question what is real and what is fake.
Lawmakers said the bill would give the Federal Election Commission the power to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in elections in the same way it has regulated other political misrepresentation for decades. The FEC has started to consider such regulations.
“Right now, the FEC does not have the teeth, the regulatory authority, to protect the election,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who co-sponsored the legislation. Other sponsors include Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat; Rep. Derek Kilmer, a Washington Democrat; and Lori Chavez-DeRemer, an Oregon Republican.
Fitzpatrick and Schiff said the odds were against the bill passing this year. Nevertheless, they said they don’t expect the measure to face much opposition and could be attached to a must-pass measure in the waning days the congressional session.
Schiff described the bill as a modest first step in addressing the threat posed by deepfakes and other false AI-generated content, arguing the legislation’s simplicity was an asset.
“This is really probably the lowest hanging fruit there is” in terms of addressing the misuse of AI in politics, Schiff said. “There’s so much more we’re going to need to do, though, to try to attack the avalanche of misinformation and disinformation.”
Congress has been paralyzed on countless issues in recent years, and regulating AI is no exception.
“This is another illustration of congressional dysfunction,” Schiff said.
Schiff and Fitzpatrick are not alone in believing artificial intelligence legislation is needed and can become law. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Pennsylvania Democrat, and Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican, introduced legislation earlier this month that aims to curb the spread of unauthorized AI-generated…