REMARKS
Council Member Julie Menin introduces legislation to combat AI-generated misinformation in elections
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123 sec
Council Member Julie Menin addresses the growing threat of AI-generated misinformation in elections and introduces Intro 293, a bill aimed at prohibiting deceptive AI-generated content in local elections. She emphasizes the need for proactive regulation to protect democratic institutions and ensure election integrity.
- Menin cites recent examples of AI-generated misinformation in elections, including a robocall impersonating President Biden and an audio clip in a New York State Assembly race.
- The proposed legislation, Intro 293, would cover primary, special, and general elections for various city offices and impose penalties for non-compliance.
- Menin stresses the urgency of addressing this issue before a serious incident occurs and calls for safeguards to protect democracy.
Julie Menin
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Thank you so much, chair wrestler, for holding today's important hearing.
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The last election cycle highlighted the increased usage of artificial intelligence used for misinformation.
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This past January, for example, an AI generated robocall of President Biden falsely told New Hampshire voters not to vote in the Democratic primary and to wait to vote until November.
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And just last January, here in New York City, for a local State assembly race, there was an AI generated audio of a former assembly member bashing an incumbent assembly member, which was done to misinform voters.
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It is very clear that AI generated misinformation will not be going away any time soon.
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These tools are not cost prohibitive and can easily be obtained.
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In fact, they are rapidly being improved so that it's difficult to distinguish them from an actual person.
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It is far too easy to anonymously use and abuse these tools to mislead voters.
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Voters deserve to know what is false, otherwise, it only serves to worsen our democratic institutions.
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That is why I introduced intro 293, a bill that prohibits the dissemination of materially deceptive audio or visual
Paul Seamus Ryan
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media in local elections.
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This would cover any primary, special,
Julie Menin
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or general election, advocate, controller, borough president or city council.
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Failure to comply would result in a misdemeanor with a fine of no more than 2,500 as well as serious injunctive relief.
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We have an opportunity to be proactive in addressing a grave threat to our democracy.
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We cannot wait to regulate until a serious incident occurs.
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Misinformation is already a global phenomena and an election should not be determined by doctored images or audio.
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We need to ensure safeguards to our democracy.
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I wanna thank the chair for allowing me to speak, and I wanna thank the bill drafter, Jazari Ganapatay.
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And I also wanna thank my team, Jonathan Shut, Brandon Jordan, and Mercedes Anderson.
0:09:45
Thank you.
