Washington DC — Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has introduced three bipartisan bills to protect election integrity amid the use of artificial intelligence in campaigns and election administration, to be approved tomorrow morning. It is scheduled to be discussed by the committee.
Klobuchar, chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, introduced S.2770, the “Protecting Elections from Deceptive AI Act,'' in September 2023, which would “relate to candidates for federal elections. “Distributing AI-generated audio or visual media that is grossly deceptive” is now prohibited. For office or other purposes. The bill has five co-sponsors, including Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware).
“Today, we are seeing AI being used as a tool to influence democracy,” Klobuchar said in a statement in September. “Rules of the road need to be in place to stop him from using fraudulent AI-generated content in campaign ads. Voters should be given full transparency.”
She then introduced two more AI-related bills in March 2024, both co-sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Klobuchar first introduced S.3875, the AI Transparency in Elections Act of 2024, which would require the disclosure of AI-generated images, audio, or video in political ads if they include them. It stipulates that it is necessary to include a description of the
“As AI continues to evolve into a powerful and widely available tool, Congress is making efforts to strengthen the use of AI-generated content in elections so people can know whether what they are seeing is real or generated by AI. We need to put guardrails in place,” Klobuchar said. Statement of March 6th.
She then introduced S. 3897, the Preparing Election Officials for AI Act. To that end, the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission has issued a newsletter to election officials on how to use AI in election administration and how to reduce the risks and harms of AI use in elections and campaign activities, including cybersecurity concerns and the spread of infection. It is necessary to create guidelines for of disinformation.
“In an era of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence technology, election officials would benefit from comprehensive guidance to effectively counter potential threats to the election process,” Collins said in March. said in a statement on the 12th.
On Monday, several members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Pennsylvania Representatives Chrissy Hoolahan (D) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R), introduced a bipartisan bill that would serve as a companion bill to S.3897.
“Ensuring the integrity of our elections is a shared, bipartisan responsibility,” Houlahan said in a statement yesterday. “By promoting cooperation and affirmative action, we can strengthen trust and confidence in our electoral system for the benefit of all Americans, regardless of political affiliation.”
The three Senate bills will be considered by the Senate Rules and Administration Committee tomorrow at 10 a.m. EDT, after which they could be sent to the Senate floor for consideration.
Read Senate Bills S.2770, S.3875, and S.3897.
Read the House companion bill to S.3897 here.
