BILL NUMBER: S7592A
SPONSOR: ASHBY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to requiring disclosure of
the use of artificial intelligence in political communications
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill requires political communications that use artificial intelli-
gence to provide a disclaimer clearly stating "This communication was
generated using artificial intelligence."
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the election law to require political communications
that use artificial intelligence to provide a disclaimer clearly print-
ed, stating: "This communication was generated using artificial intelli-
gence." For non-visual communications such as radio or telephone calls,
the communication must verbally disclose: "This communication was gener-
ated using artificial intelligence."
Failure to disclose such information will result in a penalty equal to
the amount expended on such communication.
Section 2 amends the election law to require the State Board of Elec-
tions-within 120 days of this act passing- to:
1) produce rules and regulations to determine whether political communi-
cation contains an image or video footage created through generative
artificial intelligence; and
2) a definition of content generated by artificial intelligence that
considers current and future uses of artificial intelligence and similar
technologies that have a high risk for use in creating and spreading
misinformation or disinformation about candidates, elections, and issues
of concern to the state of New York.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In 2022, a published study conducted by University of Colorado research-
er Harsha Gangadharbatla found that over 75% of survey respondents were
unable to attribute artwork created by Artificial-Intelligence (AI) as
not real. Although AI has many beneficial applications, its use in
creating persuasive messages and images begets concerning possibilities,
which includes misinformation campaigns that can appear indiscernible
from the truth. AI is a fast-evolving technology that makes it easier
to produce doctored photos, audio and video. It is imperative that the
electorate are able to clearly identify the difference between real
content and artificially-created content within campaigns. The most
efficient way to ensure individuals can make this differentiation would
be to provide a verbal or printed disclaimer for content generated by AI
on all political communications. This would go a long way towards gain-
ing the trust of voters and providing transparency.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that the
provisions of section two of this act shall take effect on the 120th day
after it shall have become a law.

Statutes affected:
S7592: 14-106 election law, 3-102 election law
S7592A: 14-106 election law, 3-102 election law