The bill comes in rebuke of Elon Musk and the X social platform, which spread an AI-generated fake political ad utilizing Kamala Harris without permission.
In 2017, Elon Musk said that AI was a dangerous technology if left unregulated, and he repeated that sentiment in 2023 even as he was invested in launching his own AI platform via xAI. However, his recent deep lean into right wing politics has spurred the very regulation of AI he once called for, at least in California. There, governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill banning distribution of election or political ads and communications containing materially deceptive content after Elon Musk and right wing talking-heads on the X (formerly Twitter) social media platform spread an AI-generated ad mocking Kamala Harris and her presidential campaign.
Governor Newsom signed his election “deepfake” ban bill this week, as reported by Politico. The bill is expected to go into effect before the November 2024 election and raises issue about AI’s use in pushing creating deepfake imagery to propagate and spread misinformation. To combat that danger, the bill bans distribution of digitally altered political “deepfake” content. The outrage over this type of content was stoked when Twitter owner Elon Musk shared an AI-altered video of Harris, whom he has openly opposed as he throws his weight behind’s a Trump presidency this year.
I just signed a bill to make this illegal in the state of California.
You can no longer knowingly distribute an ad or other election communications that contain materially deceptive content — including deepfakes.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 17, 2024
Elon Musk responded as one who has followed his recent activity on social media might expect, by reposting the same video. “The governor of California just made this parody video illegal in violation of the Constitution of the United States,” Musk wrote on September 17. “Would be a shame if it went viral.”
Elon Musk and his supporters claim the video falls under parody, which makes it fair game for posting on social media and other outlets, but it also wouldn’t be the first time one of Elon’s political jokes fell flat. He recently deleted a tweet suggesting that it was strange that no one was trying to assassinate Kamala Harris or Tim Walz, later expressing that he’d told the same “joke” to a personal group and they laughed, so he was surprised to find it wasn’t as funny in a public forum. Musk’s xAI company has also found itself in hot water for polluting air quality in Memphis, Tennessee with the unpermitted gas turbines it uses to power its AI services.
In 2023, Elon Musk called for regulatory oversight on AI, calling it “dangerous technology”. It seems Musk got what he wanted, but it will remain to be seen if Newsom’s bill picks up further support in combatting misuse of AI. Stay tuned as we continue to follow this story for further updates.
TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.
