States turn their attention to regulating AI and deepfakes as 2024 kicks off

Through most of 2023, just a handful of states enacted laws to tackle the challenges that artificial intelligence and deepfakes posed to political campaigns.

But now that the 2024 election cycle is in full force, state lawmakers across the country have snapped into action to try to deal with the thorny, quickly changing issue.

In just the first three weeks of 2024, lawmakers from both major parties have introduced legislation in at least 13 states to combat the kind of mis- and dis-information AI and deepfakes can create in elections.

The issue was back in the spotlight Monday after the emergence of a fake robocall featuring a voice impersonating President Joe Biden telling Democratic voters in New Hampshire not to cast their ballots in Tuesday's primary.

It remains unclear whether the voice — an apparent imitation or digital manipulation of the president’s — was created with the use of artificial intelligence, though the New Hampshire attorney general’s office, which is investigating, said in a statement that the message appeared to have been “artificially generated based on initial indications.”

The call underscores the type of threat posed by the use of AI and deepfakes heading into the heart of the campaign season.

“The political deepfake moment is here. Policymakers must rush to put in place protections or we’re facing electoral chaos. The New Hampshire deepfake is a reminder of the many ways that deepfakes can sow confusion and perpetuate fraud,” Robert Weissman, the president of the government watchdog group Public Citizen, which has petitioned the federal government to act more aggressively against deepfakes, said in a statement.

“The good news is that states are rushing to fill the gap,” Weissman added.

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