Over the course of 2023, artificial intelligence has become more prevalent within society. Artificial intelligence has altered all industries, from education, to social media, to music, the impact of artificial intelligence has widespread reach. Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined by Merriam-Webster as ¨a branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers.¨ More specifically, AI is when human characteristics are simulated by computers. Computer scientists and engineers have been developing AI since the 1950s, but recently, AI such as ChatGPT have raised questions about legal ethics, especially when pertaining to privacy, intellectual property, and the speed of the legal system as a whole.
Clear and present dangers are already popping up in AI, with some of them potentially having grave consequences. Some AI replicates the voices, writing styles and art of individuals all over the world, and this can cause copyright issues. There are several AI websites that can create images and videos based on an individual’s face. These images are known as deepfakes and have been published online and distributed throughout the internet. Deepfakes can use images to generate photos and videos that make it seem as though individuals have said or done things that they have not. This can take misinformation to a new level where people can no longer trust what they are seeing. This AI has been used to create images of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket, former president Donald Trump being arrested and many more, but more dangerously, they have been used to create explicit imagery. According to the Guardian, “A staggering 96% were pornographic and 99% of those mapped faces [were] from female celebrities … As new techniques allow unskilled people to make deep fakes with a handful of photos, fake videos are likely to spread beyond the celebrity world …” (Sample and Gregory, 2020).
This is quickly becoming a prevalent issue in schools throughout the country. One instance of this occurring was at high school in a local NJ town. “At least one student had used girls’ photos found online to create the fake nudes and then shared them with other boys in group chats” (Thaler, 2023). This shows how damaging AI can be to others and school policies, and laws are not equipped to handle these issues as they arise. This is not the only reported instance of such a case. Since AI became popularized in 2023, legal experts have raised concerns about the misuse of the technology to create pornographic and illicit imagery.
Currently, California, Texas, Minnesota, Washington and New York have passed laws criminalizing illicit AI imagery. New Jersey has introduced a variety of bills to the state legislature, but these laws have not yet been passed or signed into law. The state of New York is the most recent state to pass legislation regarding this issue. “Signed into law by governor Kathy Hochul, legislation created by state senator Michelle Hinchey will make it illegal to disseminate or circulate sexually explicit images generated by artificial intelligence (AI) using someone else’s likeness without their consent … Those who do so will go to jail for up to a year and pay a fine of up to $1000” (Most, 2023).
The law needs to evolve and change in order to cover new technologies. It needs to change with the world around us in order to ensure that crimes involving artificial intelligence as well as crimes involving other recent technological innovations are being prosecuted to their full extent.
On September 20, 2023, the DEEPFAKES Accountability Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. This bill aims to mandate watermarks on deepfake content and criminalize lack of identification on pornographic deepfakes, deepfakes related to criminal activities, deepfakes that are used to incite violence, or those involving foreign interference in elections. Congresswoman Clarke stated: “It’s imperative that Congress not only establishes a clear standard for identifying deepfakes but also provides prosecutors, regulators, and especially victims with the necessary tools to combat fake or manipulated content.” The bill has not yet been voted upon but is being handled by the Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology. This legislation is urgently needed as AI crimes become more common throughout the world, especially with the harm that deepfakes can do in the 2024 presidential election and as the accessibility of such AI increases.
Schools and universities need to review their policies on these issues especially as AI use becomes more prominent within our society. As technology evolves, so do the needs of citizens and the law should adapt to meet those needs. As Thomas Jefferson said, “…laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.”
“Artificial intelligence Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, 7 November 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artificial%20intelligence. Accessed 11 November 2023. “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights | OSTP.” The White House, https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/ai-bill-of-rights/. Accessed 11 November 2023. “CLARKE LEADS LEGISLATION TO REGULATE DEEPFAKES - Congresswoman Yvette Clarke.” Yvette Clarke, 21 September 2023, https://clarke.house.gov/clarke-leads-legislation-to-regulate-deepfakes/. Accessed 24 November 2023. Milano, Brett. “Government can’t keep up with technology’s growth.” Harvard Gazette, 7 February 2019, https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/02/government-cant-keep-up-with-technologys-growth/. Accessed 11 November 2023. Most, Rokosz. “Deepfake porn in New York State means jail time.” Hudson Valley One, 15 October 2023, https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2023/10/15/deepfake-porn-in-new-york-state-means-jail-time/. Accessed 11 November 2023. “Quotations on the Jefferson Memorial.” Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/quotations-jefferson-memorial/. Accessed 11 November 2023. Sample, Ian, and Sam Gregory. “What are deepfakes – and how can you spot them?” The Guardian, 13 January 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jan/13/what-are-deepfakes-and-how-can-you-spot-them. Accessed 11 November 2023. Thaler, Shannon. “AI-generated nude images of girls at NJ high school trigger police probe: ‘I am terrified.’” New York Post, 2 November 2023, https://nypost.com/2023/11/02/news/ai-generated-nudes-of-girls-at-nj-high-school-trigger-police-probe/. Accessed 11 November 2023. Wichmann, Nick. “,.” , - YouTube, 22 September 2021, https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5586?s=1&r=1&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22deepfake%22%7D. Accessed 24 November 2023.
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