The General Assembly passes two bills creating penalties for the use of deep fakes - some of Delaware’s first laws regarding artificial intelligence.
House Bill 316, sponsored by State Rep. Cyndie Romer, creates a new election crime – the use of deep fake technology to influence an election. Under the statute, it would be a crime to distribute “deep fake” audio or visual depictions meant to harm a candidate or deceive voters within 90 days of an election.
“We’re seeing videos out there of elected officials utilizing these deep fakes," Romer says. "And we have two people in our state that are running for national office, so it’s not just a Delaware problem, this is becoming a national problem.”
Romer notes the bill would hold distributors of the content responsible – finding the creators could prove a nearly impossible task, and they could have originated from out-of-state or outside of the country.
State Rep. Krista Griffith’s HB 353 provides civil penalties for distributing AI images of individuals in the nude or engaging in sexual conduct – when those images involve a minor, those penalties are criminal.
“People are tired of seeing, especially images of children, manipulated, and then spread," Griffith says. "And even adults. It’s false information that is being sent out that damages and hurts people.”
Griffith says there is more legislation to come regarding data privacy and AI technology. She notes preventing bias and discrimination in hiring processes and criminal prosecutions when AI is involved.
Griffith's bill to create the Delaware Artificial Intelligence Commission, tasked with making recommendations to the General Assembly and Department of Technology and Information on AI utilization within the state, also passed both chambers.
