LANSING – Michigan lawmakers are advancing bipartisan legislation to crack down on AI-generated deepfakes in election materials in a state where voters could determine control of the White House and the U.S. House in 2024.
The legislative package could add Michigan to the handful of states restricting the use of artificial intelligence in political campaigns in response to worries about how the technology could empower bad actors to sway voters.
Bipartisan support is one advantage Michiganders have to get the restrictions approved in time for the 2024 election, Rep. Matthew Bierlein (R) said in an interview. Michigan’s “purple state propensity” makes it especially important for the parties to come together, he said. “We could all be either really helped or really hurt by AI-generated ads” with the White House, Congress, and state legislature on the line.
Michigan’s five-bill legislative package would require political messages to include disclosures of AI use, with repeat offenders facing felony convictions and two-year prison sentences. Anyone convicted of using deepfakes while attempting to sway an election could receive up to five years if the measures get enacted.
Individual candidates and the state attorney general would be able to sue over any political materials that appear to violate such rules.
The Michigan House Elections Committee approved the package Oct. 17.
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