Senator Maroney to Introduce Legislation Banning AI-Generated Porn
This upcoming legislative session, state Senator James Maroney (D-Milford), plans to introduce a bill that builds upon the Artificial Intelligence (AI) bill passed in 2023. Under this proposal, Senator Maroney will look at transparency and accountability of AI, create training programs and work to criminalize AI-generated porn.
“AI has the ability to radically transform the way we live and work,” said Sen. Maroney. “In order to reap the full benefits of this rapidly evolving technology, we need to ensure that there is trust and we put in guardrails to keep citizens safe. One of the risks we have seen is in disinformation and spreading fake content. In Connecticut, we need to make certain that it is illegal to use AI to generate non-consensual intimate images. We also need to protect the integrity of our elections and prevent the use of deep fakes for campaign.”
Part 1: Transparency and Accountability
Senator Maroney will build upon AI legislation passed in 2023. He intends to propose an AI bill that encompasses transparency and accountability surrounding AI so people are aware they are interacting with AI. Artificial intelligence is fast becoming a regular part of daily life, shaping the way Americans work, play and receive essential services. A Pew Research Center study finds that many Americans are aware of common ways they might encounter AI but at the same time, only three-in-ten U.S. adults are able to correctly identify all six uses of AI asked about in the survey, underscoring the developing nature of public understanding.
Part 2: Creating Training Programs
Senator Maroney is determined to better the workforce with AI. Under this bill, he will create training programs to use AI for workers and businesses. There is a collaborative effort of technologies that can help people perform better in the workforce. AI can be very beneficial and have a significant impact in our workforce as the creation of new technologies continues to develop
Part 3: Criminalizing Deepfake Porn
Under Senator Maroney’s Artificial Intelligence proposal, the bill intends to prohibit the use of AI to make deepfake porn of people, including the use of AI to create revenge porn.
In November of 2023, an undisclosed number of girls at a New Jersey high school learned that one or more students at their school had used an artificial intelligence tool to generate what appeared to be nude images of them. Those images were being shared among classmates. At the moment, there is no law that covers AI-generated nude images. These AI-generated nudes are called deepfake photos. Deepfakes can use the face, voice or partial image of a real person and meld it with other imagery to make it look or sound like a depiction of that person. Under this proposal Senator Maroney plans to update revenge porn statutes to include generative AI images & put prohibition on models on child porn or nonconsensual images.
In December 2023, Senator Maroney held the fourth Artificial Intelligence (AI) Task Force meeting at Yale University. Speakers and panelists discussed strategies on building Connecticut’s health tech economy and growing the AI workforce. Senator Maroney also ran five multi-state working group meetings with legislators from around the country. As AI continues to grow across the U.S., this taskforce will continue to consider strategies with implementing AI safely for people across Connecticut. |
