6 February 22-28, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | M ake no mistake. We’re already knee-deep in the era where AI-generated images, video, and audio have flooded our collec- tive consciousness and blurred the line between real and simulated media. Case in point: Fake porn featuring crude digital approximations of Taylor Swift in the nude inundated social media in January and were viewed by millions of internet users. While some of the im- ages were obviously nonsense (see: singer sodomized by a muppet), others were crafted in a manner that could fool a gullible onlooker into believing they were legitimate photos. In the political realm, operatives supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign put out an ad last year that sought to turn voters against Donald Trump by present- ing them with fake images, presumably generated with AI as- sistance, that depicted the former president smooching onetime White House Chief Medical Adviser Anthony Fauci on the nose. In another incident, a social media account tweeted a bogus, AI-generated video of Joe Biden announcing a military draft for the war in Ukraine – a post that was framed as a legitimate news post and viewed eight million times. As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, lawmakers nationwide are looking to rein in the technology, and Florida legislators are no exception. Among the proposed AI regulations in Florida are a bill that seeks to restrict the use of artificial intelligence in political ad- vertising (“deepfakes” in particular) and another measure that would expose people to civil liability if they use AI to portray someone in a “false light.” A third bill would create a new advi- sory council in the state to study the development of artificial intelligence, recommend reforms, and explore security issues. In Congress, Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Mi- ami native and former journalist, is leading an effort to ban AI exploitation of people’s images and voices and slap violators with heavy fines. Only time will tell whether the legislation amounts to an effective regulation of AI media or a futile attempt to control a digital phenomenon proliferating at a rapid rate. While folks have been using software like Adobe Photoshop to edit digital media for years, it’s only recently that AI tools have made the near-instantaneous creation of elaborate, lifelike images avail- able to the masses with a simple verbal prompt. “Because AI technology is evolving so quickly, and the leg- islative process moves so slowly, we’re not always able to act in a well-thought-out manner,” Tina Tallon, a University of Florida AI-art researcher and composer, tells New Times. In the meantime, we’re in the Wild West of AI-generated media, where Oscar the Grouch might have his way with your favorite pop artist, and a presidential voice you hear deliver- ing a campaign message could be a swiftly assembled con job. Do You Own Your Voice? The examples of AI-generated media simulating celebrities doing dastardly deeds or endorsing obscure products are too numerous to recount in one fell swoop. But those following the proliferation of AI tools might re- call that time 4chan users deployed a company’s cutting-edge, voice-mimicking tool to generate fake audio of actress Emma Watson, who is most certainly not a Nazi, reading Adolf Hit- ler’s Mein Kampf. In the fall of 2023, Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks warned that an AI-generated depiction of him had been used in an adver- tisement to make it appear as if he was endorsing a dental plan. To combat such exploitation, Salazar proposed a bipartisan bill that would set up a federal framework to protect Ameri- cans (famous or not) from AI exploitation of their “likeness and voice.” Salazar introduced the bill – entitled the “No Arti- ficial Intelligence Fake Replicas And Unauthorized Duplica- tions (No AI FRAUD) Act” – on January 10 alongside Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania. Among other controversies, the bill text recalls a 2023 inci- dent in which students at a New Jersey high school were ac- cused of making artificial intelligence-generated pornographic images of their classmates. “Not only does our bill protect artists and performers, but it gives all Americans the tools to protect their digital personas,” Florida lawmakers scramble to regulate runaway AI technology. BY IZZY KAPNICK AND NAOMI FEINSTEIN MUPPET SEX &MEIN KAMPF No, Donald Trump and Taylor Swift never kissed — it’s all computery wizardry courtesy of AI. AI-generated image
