Michigan Becomes Fifth State to Regulate A.I. in Elections
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) signed a package of four bipartisan bills into law today, making Michigan the fifth U.S. state to regulate artificial intelligence (A.I.) in election communications.
The legislation requires a disclaimer on political advertisements created using A.I.-generated content and effectively bans “deepfakes” in communications surrounding elections unless the use of A.I. is clearly disclosed. Michigan joins Texas, Minnesota, California, and Washington in passing legislation to curb the use of A.I. during elections.
The bills were introduced by State Reps. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing), Matthew Bierlein (R-Vassar), Noah Arbit (D-West Bloomfield), and Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton).
“Michigan has sent a strong message that it rejects any attempts to deceive voters through the use of artificial intelligence,” said Rep. Tsernoglou, who chairs the Michigan House Elections Committee. “We are pleased to see bipartisan support for this bill, which makes Michigan a leader in regulating deceptive uses of artificial intelligence in elections.”
“Thank you Michigan for showing that we don’t have to stand helplessly aside as political deepfakes threaten to destroy voters’ ability to distinguish authentic content from fraudulent audio, video and pictures,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. “Michigan’s requirement that political deepfakes be labeled is an example for the rest of the nation – one we expect states across the country to follow.”
Public Citizen has urged the Federal Election Commission to create a rule banning deceptive A.I.-generated content and has called on both major parties and their presidential candidates to pledge not to use A.I. deepfakes in campaigns.