Delaware Leads in AI and Deepfakes Regulation

Published Date: 02/07/2024

Lawmakers in Delaware tackle the growing concerns of artificial intelligence and deepfakes with three key measures, providing civil and criminal remedies for wrongful disclosure and protecting individuals from malicious use.

In the final days of the 152nd session of the Delaware General Assembly, lawmakers took a significant step forward in addressing the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence and deepfakes. This technological advancement has the potential to revolutionize various aspects of our lives, but it also poses significant threats to individual privacy, security, and democracy.

One of the primary concerns surrounding deepfakes is their potential use in creating convincing yet false depictions of individuals, which can be damaging to their reputation and even lead to criminal consequences. According to Sen. Stephanie Hansen, a deepfake is an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.

The most alarming aspect of deepfakes is their ability to create realistic tracks of new songs, telephone conversations, and even face-swapping technology. While these uses may seem harmless, the leap to more sinister applications is not hard to imagine. Indeed, it's already here. Deepfake pornography has been used to make videos of celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Bell, and Taylor Swift, in which they appear to be committing lewd acts that never happened.

But it's not just celebrities who are victims of deepfakes. In 2022, Delaware teen Amelia Kramer and her family found themselves at the receiving end of a deepfake nightmare. Amelia's face was added to pornographic images of others and then spread throughout the internet and on social media. The Kramer family's ordeal highlights the need for legislation to protect individuals from such malicious use.

House Bill 353, also known as the 'Amelia Kramer Act,' provides civil and criminal remedies for the wrongful disclosure of deepfakes that depict individuals in the nude or engaging in sexual conduct. It also makes it a felony to create a visual depiction of a minor that is nude or engaging in sexual conduct. The bill has successfully passed both chambers of the legislature and awaits action from Gov. John Carney.

Another sinister use of deepfakes and artificial intelligence is during election cycles. Several instances of such technology being used to spread disinformation about candidates and elections have already been reported throughout the country. To curb similar issues in Delaware, House Substitute 1 for House Bill 316 would make distributing election-related deepfakes within 90 days of an election a class B misdemeanor. Politically motivated deepfakes intended to cause violence or bodily harm would be class A misdemeanors.

The passage of HB 353 and HB 316 came just days after both chambers unanimously approved House Bill 333, to create the Delaware Artificial Intelligence Commission. This body of experts and legislators will prepare for ways that AI may impact employment, transportation, education, and other facets of life.

Information 

Delaware General Assembly  The Delaware General Assembly is the state legislature of Delaware, consisting of the Delaware Senate and the Delaware House of Representatives.

Sen. Stephanie Hansen  Senator Stephanie Hansen is a Democrat from Middletown, Delaware, who sponsored House Bill 353 in the Senate.

Sen. Bryan Townsend  Senator Bryan Townsend is a Democrat from Newark, Delaware, who sponsored House Substitute 1 for House Bill 316.

Gov. John Carney  John Carney is the 74th Governor of Delaware, serving since 2017.

FAQs:

Q: What is the purpose of the studies?

A: The studies aimed to learn whether AI could improve a physician’s ability to diagnose patients by comparing the clinical reasoning abilities of large language models to that of physicians.

Q: What is clinical reasoning?

A: Clinical reasoning refers to the thought processes that allow doctors to reach a diagnosis and is perhaps the most important procedure that physicians perform on a daily basis.

Q: What are large language models?

A: Large language models (LLMs) are a form of artificial intelligence (AI) that can process large amounts of information from sources like the internet and generate answers to questions that read like a conversation.

Q: What did the studies find?

A: The studies found that AI may have shortcomings in reasoning capabilities, but it can still augment the abilities of diagnosticians and help keep patients safe.

Q: Can AI be used for diagnosing patients?

A: While AI shows promise, it is too premature to offer these tools in patient care. Significant future study is required to address considerations such as accounting for biases, “hallucinations” (or false information generated by the chatbots), as well as data safety and privacy concerns.

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