SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers approved several proposals this week to regulate the artificial intelligence industry, combat deep fakes and protect workers from exploitation by the rapidly evolving technology.
The California Legislature, which Democrats control, is voting on hundreds of bills during its final week of the session to send to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Their deadline is Saturday.
The Democratic governor has until Sept. 30 to sign the proposals, veto them or let them become law without his signature. Newsom signaled in July he would sign a proposal to crack down on election deepfakes but has yet to weigh in on other legislation.
He warned earlier this summer that overregulation could hurt the homegrown industry. In recent years, he often cited the state’s budget troubles when rejecting legislation he would otherwise support.
Here is a look at some of the AI bills lawmakers approved this year.
Combatting deep fakes
Citing concerns over how AI tools are increasingly being used to trick voters and generate deepfake pornography of minors, California lawmakers approved several bills this week to crack down on the practice.
Lawmakers approved legislation to ban deep fakes related to elections and require large social media platforms to remove the deceptive material 120 days before Election Day and 60 days thereafter. Campaigns would also be required to publicly disclose if they’re running ads with materials altered by AI.
A pair of proposals would make it illegal to use AI tools to create images and videos of child sexual abuse. Current law does not allow district attorneys to go after people who possess or distribute AI-generated child sexual abuse images if they cannot prove the materials are depicting a real person.
Tech companies and social media platforms would be required to provide AI detection tools to users under another proposal.
Setting safety guardrails
California could become the first state in the nation to set sweeping safety measures on large AI models.
The legislation sent by lawmakers to the governor’s desk requires developers to start disclosing what data they use to train their models. The efforts aim to shed more light on how AI models work and prevent future catastrophic disasters.
Another measure would require the state to set safety protocols preventing risks and algorithmic discrimination before agencies could enter any contract involving AI models used to define decisions.
Protecting workers
Inspired by the monthslong Hollywood actors strike last year, lawmakers approved a proposal to protect workers, including voice actors and audiobook performers, from being replaced by their AI-generated clones. The measure mirrors language in the contract the SAG-AFTRA made with studios last December.
Under one of the proposals, state and local agencies would be banned from using AI to replace workers at call centers.
California may also create penalties for digitally cloning dead people without the consent of their estates.
Keeping up with technology
As corporations increasingly weave AI into Americans’ daily lives, state lawmakers passed several bills to increase AI literacy.
One proposal would require a state working group to consider incorporating AI skills into math, science, history and social science curricula. Another would be to develop guidelines on how schools could use AI in the classroom.
