Governor Proposes Legislation to Allow Individuals to Seek Judicial Relief for the Dissemination of False Digitally Altered Material
Legislation Would Also Update Penal Law to Account for Unauthorized Uses of Artificial Intelligence
Also Proposes Legislation to Require Disclosures on Digitized Political Communications Published or Distributed Within 60 Days of an Election
Complements Governor’s Bold Empire AI Proposal to Secure New York’s Place at the Forefront of the Artificial Intelligence Transformation
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced nation-leading actions to protect against untrustworthy and fraudulent uses for artificial intelligence in New York as the state continues to build and embrace the future of responsible AI. Governor Hochul’s actions include new legislation, presented as part of her FY 2025 Executive Budget, which would add a misdemeanor for unauthorized uses of a person’s voice; allow for a private right of action to combat digitally manipulated false images; update the Penal Law to account for unauthorized uses of artificial intelligence; and require disclosures on digitized political communications published within 60 days of an election. The new legislation builds on the Governor’s vision of putting New York at the forefront of artificial intelligence research and development — including through her transformative Empire AI proposal to establish a consortium of leading New York institutions to unlock AI opportunities focused on public good.
“As part of our work to bring the future of AI to our state, I’m proposing nation-leading protections for New Yorkers to ensure that we’re doing it safely and responsibly,” Governor Hochul said. “This legislation will help to set important guardrails around the use of this cutting-edge technology and give law enforcement the tools it needs to go after bad actors, and I will work closely with the Legislature to make sure we get this done.”
In light of recent, high-profile incidents involving unauthorized uses of AI and deepfakes, Governor Hochul is prioritizing safety as the state continues to build its AI footprint. The Governor has proposed legislation to add a misdemeanor for the unauthorized use of one’s voice in connection with advertising or trade and to expand the existing misdemeanor of unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image to also include liability for unlawfully disseminating authentic or digitized audio featuring sexual content. The legislation would also clarify that the prohibition under current law on the unlawful distribution of intimate or sexually explicit images, includes digital images. It also adds a new private right of action for the publication of false digitally altered material.
The legislation would also update the Penal Law to clarify that crimes committed with the unauthorized use of artificial intelligence still constitute crimes and expand certain crimes to specifically include unauthorized uses of artificial intelligence, including:
- Coercion in the third degree
- Criminal impersonation in the first and second degree
- Identity theft in the third, second, and first degree, and aggravated identity theft
- Crimes regarding promoting and possessing a sexual performance or obscene sexual performance by a child
In addition, the legislation would establish the crime of Unlawful Dissemination or Publication of a Fabricated Photographic, Videographic, or Audio Record.
The Governor has also proposed legislation to require all forms of political communication – including video recording, motion picture, film, audio recording, electronic image, photograph, text, or any technological representation of speech or conduct – created through digitization to provide a disclosure of its use when published or distributed 60 days prior to an election.
Governor Hochul’s Empire AI Proposal
Governor Hochul remains committed to putting New York State at the cutting-edge of AI research, including through her FY 2025 Executive Budget proposal establishing the Empire AI consortium. The consortium will create and launch a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence computing center in Buffalo to be used by New York’s leading institutions to promote responsible research and development, create jobs, and unlock AI opportunities focused on public good. The consortium will be backed by seven founding institutions — Columbia, Cornell University, New York University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the State University of New York, the City University of New York, and the Simons Foundation — as well as industry leaders.
Access to the computing resources that power AI systems is prohibitively expensive and difficult to obtain. As a result, researchers, public interest organizations, and small companies are being left behind, which has enormous implications for AI safety and society at large. By increasing collaboration between New York State’s world-class research institutions, Empire AI will allow for efficiencies of scale not able to be achieved by any single university, empower and attract top-notch faculty, expand educational opportunity, and give rise to a wave of responsible innovation that will strengthen New York’s economy and national security.
February 15, 2024 ALBANY New York
Source: NY.gov – Midtown Tribune news
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