Relating to the use of artificial intelligence for purposes associated with elections, ballot issues, and public officials, providing penalties, and making penalties applicable

This bill relates to the use of artificial intelligence for purposes associated with elections, ballot issues, and public officials. The bill amends Code chapter 68A (campaign finance) to require published material generated through the use of artificial intelligence, defined in the bill as a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual environments, that is designed to expressly advocate for or against a candidate or ballot issue to include a disclosure that the published material was generated using artificial intelligence. The bill prohibits published material from including an endorsement of a candidate or ballot measure by a representation of a person that has been generated using artificial intelligence. By operation of law, a person who willfully violates Code chapter 68A is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least $430 but not more than $2,560.40 (artificial intelligence limitations) to prohibit a candidate, candidate’s committee, political committee, public official, or state statutory political committee from using artificial intelligence to depict a candidate or public official engaging in behavior that the candidate or public official would be unlikely to engage in or that would likely diminish the public perception of the candidate or public official. The bill also prohibits a candidate, that candidate’s committee, or a public official from using artificial intelligence to depict the candidate or public official in an event or situation that did not occur and from sharing material generated by a third party using artificial intelligence. A person does not violate the prohibition on sharing material generated by a third party using artificial intelligence if the person makes a good-faith effort to remove material that the person discovers was generated by artificial intelligence and informs the public that the material was generated using artificial intelligence. The bill prohibits a public official from using artificial intelligence to manipulate depictions of events of statewide or national importance to influence public opinion about a defined group or influence the outcome of an election or the passage or defeat of legislation.40 and a fine of up to one and one-half times the previous fine for each subsequent violation.40 and a fine of up to two times the previous fine for each violation. A fine collected by the board pursuant to this provision of the bill shall be deposited in the general fund of the state.