Fox: Coons’ measure a step to combat deepfakes
Mike Fox is the CEO and owner of Crystal Fox Films and Splash Designworks.
Artificial intelligence has become a staple across every industry in the U.S., simplifying processes and improving productivity. While its rapid development has created many positive impacts and promised benefits, its advancement also comes with significant risks, especially in the entertainment industry. And, whether used for good or not, AI has now become a potential cautionary hot topic for all industry professionals, artists and entertainers, covering genres from actors, writers, painters and music professionals.
In October 2023, an AI-generated video of Tom Hanks promoting a dental plan began to circulate online. To most, it seemed like another celebrity-endorsed ad, using a well-known, high-profile, A-list actor. Then, stunningly, Hanks issued a public statement, noting the video was created without his consent and warning that it was made via AI. The flags were raised to high alert, as countless others have been made aware of how “high up” this has already gone on the ladder of technology. Similar concern rocked the music industry last year, when AI software was used to replicate the voices of popular singers Drake and The Weeknd, creating a song that instantly went viral without either artist’s permission.
These high-profile instances raise concern over the prominence of unauthorized and abusive uses of AI, which can cheaply and quickly replicate individuals’ likeness and voice for unintended and sometimes nefarious purposes. Even our own daughter, Arianna Fox — who’s a professional voiceover for such brands as DreamWorks Animation, NBC Universal, Netflix and more — has come across stunning AI voiceovers that were never endorsed by their original human counterparts.
Delaware’s own Democratic Sen. Chris Coons has a new bill to create safeguards against such AI abuses and to make sure these incidents don’t become the norm and out of control. The Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe Act, or the NO FAKES Act, would hold wrongdoers accountable, while including crucial exceptions to protect legitimate creators and media organizations, and ensure the bill will not roll back First Amendment rights.
The new legislation is designed to create a national standard to protect the voice and visual likeness of all individuals and professionals, guaranteeing that people, companies or services are held liable if they create or knowingly host unauthorized digital replicas embodying such individuals’ voices or likenesses. Key to this measure are its First Amendment protections, which would ensure that the bill doesn’t impede important legitimate speech, such as depictions of real people or events in documentaries, biographies, commentary, criticism, parody and satire.
Historically, entertainers, storytellers, commentators, scholars and educators who produce documentaries, docudramas, biopics, fictionalized depictions of real people, news reports, commentary, criticism, parody and satire have enjoyed broad protections against claims from individuals or their estates seeking retribution for how they were portrayed. A federal bill without these exemptions could leave creators vulnerable to arbitrary lawsuits, which means lengthy, exhaustive litigation that would deter future creators from using the latest technological tools to engage in such protected speech. Fortunately, the NO FAKES Act recognizes the complex nature of this issue and has been crafted to consider these important protections.
Earlier this year, Delaware lawmakers voted to create our state’s own Artificial Intelligence Commission to tackle this issue and others like it, and I’m pleased Sen. Coons and his colleagues are leading this work on the federal level to keep up with this new, sophisticated technology. The NO FAKES Act is a strong nationwide framework that can deliver penalties to those abusing this technology, while also ensuring that law-abiding creators don’t become collateral damage. Sen. Coons has taken a commendable first step; now, it’s up to Congress to do the rest by passing this bill.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
