House Democrat unveils legislation requiring disclosure of AI use in political ads

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill Tuesday that would require political groups or campaigns to disclose the use of content created by artificial intelligence (AI) in political ads.

“The upcoming 2024 election cycle will be the first time in U.S. history where AI generated content will be used in political ads by campaigns, parties, and Super PACs,” Clarke said in a press release. “Unfortunately, our current laws have not kept pace with the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies.”

“If AI-generated content can manipulate and deceive people on a large scale, it can have devastating consequences for our national security and election security,” she added.

The bill — which would update federal campaign finance laws to include requirements for the disclosures — comes in the wake of the Republican National Committee (RNC) releasing its first ad with AI-generated content following President Biden’s reelection bid announcement. Clarke said in an interview with The Washington Post that the ad, which depicted dystopian hypothetical scenarios in Biden’s second term, provided the impetus for the new legislation.

Although the RNC provided disclaimers about the use of AI in the new ad, Clarke said other organizations may not do the same.

“There will be those who will not want to disclose that it’s AI-generated, and we want to protect against that, particularly when we look at the political season before us,” Clarke told the Post.

Clarke’s legislation comes as Washington is scrambling to keep up with the effects the rise of chatbots and AI will have on the spread of misinformation and the American workforce.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last week put out a joint statement emphasizing the agencies’ commitment to enforcing laws centering on fairness and justice as AI is increasingly used for services like housing and health care.

“I think there are really important uses of AI, but there have to be some rules to the road so that the American people are not deceived or put into harm’s way,” Clarke said.