Login | May 03, 2024
Bill would restrict use of AI-generated images
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: April 23, 2024
Republican sponsors of a bill designed to shield Ohioans from the potentially harmful uses of artificial intelligence made their case to committee members in the Ohio Senate recently.
Sens. Louis Blessing III, of Colerain Township (Hamilton County), and Terry Johnson, of McDermott, told members of the Judiciary Committee that it’s essential for the General Assembly to act promptly and implement AI regulations, considering the severity of the threats and the speed of technological advances.
Proposed by Attorney General Dave Yost, Senate Bill 217 addresses privacy and safety concerns associated with the technology from three approaches.
Acknowledging AI’s potential for remarkable advances, Blessing said it also has the potential to inflict serious harm on Ohioans.
“As Ohioans learn more about the capabilities of AI, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the technology can be used to exploit Ohioans in innumerable ways,” Blessing said. “AI can identify someone’s location, mimic their voice and generate fabricated images.”
With such abilities, he continued, the technology may be used for “notorious reasons”––most notably generating child sexual abuse material, or CSAM.
“Currently, CSAM represents a small portion of the AI-generated abusive content circulating online,” Blessing said. “With the accessibility of AI and open-source software, the number of AI-generated abusive content has only gone up in past years.”
The lawmaker said current laws against child sexual abuse material require an actual photo of a real child in order to prosecute the creator or possessor of such content.
“With AI not being a real photo, this leads to issues of prosecuting someone generating these photos,” Blessing said. “Senate Bill 217 will give attorneys the ability to prosecute these people.”
The legislation would criminalize making, transmitting or possessing “simulated obscene material,” which includes depictions of a minor or impaired person that would be prohibited under Ohio’s existing child pornography laws if the depicted person was real, testimony provided.
Individuals, websites, social media platforms, internet service providers and cellular telephone service providers would be required to remove simulated obscene materials from any website, platform, webpage or electronic communication within 24 hours after receiving notice from the attorney general.
According to analysis of SB 217, a party that fails to remove the simulated child obscenity within 24 hours is liable for civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day.
“The attorney general may bring a civil action seeking compliance with the bill’s requirements, and may seek civil penalties, injunctions and restraining orders,” Austin Strohacker wrote in the Ohio Legislative Service Commission’s analysis. “Any civil penalties collected under this section must be deposited into the Consumer Protection Enforcement fund.”
Blessing said the legislation also would criminalize using a person’s likeness, such as a modified or fabricated version of an individual’s voice, photograph, image or distinctive appearance to:
• Defraud another person;
• Induce another person to make a financial decision or extend credit;
• Damage a person or entity’s reputation;
• Depict the person, without their consent, in a state of nudity, engaging in sexual activity or in any obscene material; or
• Engage in child enticement, pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor or impaired person, or illegal use of a minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance.
SB 217 would also require AI systems to include a distinctive watermark to better ensure that the consumer is aware that a product is AI-generated and what system created it.
Johnson said protecting the state’s most vulnerable residents is more important than ever in a rapidly changing world.
“This bill creates safeguards for the use of AI, prioritizing the security of all Ohioans in a digital world,” he said.
Cincinnati Sen. Catherine Ingram, a Democrat, co-sponsors the bill, which awaits further consideration by the committee.
Copyright © 2024 The Daily Reporter - All Rights Reserved