Washington, D.C. – TechNet, the national, bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives, sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration in advance of its markup this week examining several pieces of legislation related to artificial intelligence (AI) and elections. The following can be attributed to TechNet President and CEO Linda Moore:
“AI has the potential to help us solve the greatest challenges of our time. However, recognizing and addressing its risks is crucial for its responsible development, including preventing candidates and their agents from using AI to create and disseminate misleading campaign content.
“TechNet has advocated for this prohibition at both the federal and state level. Last year, TechNet submitted comments to the FEC urging it to apply its existing ‘fraudulent misrepresentation’ doctrine to deceptive AI-generated campaign content. We are pleased that, to date, 18 states have passed legislation regulating the use of deepfakes in elections, with more expected in the coming months.
“Voters need to have confidence that the information they receive about candidates is accurate and reliable in order to make informed decisions. The technology industry is working together to set guardrails on the use of AI-generated content ahead of this year’s elections. Companies have made commitments to mark, detect, and remove deceptive AI-generated election content for the safety of our democracy.
“We appreciate the Senate Rules Committee’s attention to this important issue and look forward to continuing to work with lawmakers to protect the integrity of our elections at both the federal and state level.”
Read our letter here.