Schumer pushes harder for AI regulation: ‘Deepfakes are a serious, serious threat’

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a recent interview he will continue to push for the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) in elections.

“Look, deepfakes are a serious, serious threat to this democracy. If people can no longer believe that the person they’re hearing speak is actually the person, this democracy has suffered — it will suffer — in ways that we have never seen before,” Schumer said last week in an interview with NBC News. “And if people just get turned off to democracy, Lord knows what will happen.”

With fewer than 100 days left until the November election, Schumer spoke to the outlet about the impact AI could have on the election process. He said he hopes to bring more legislation about AI to the Senate floor in the coming months.

His recent push for regulation of the emerging technology in elections comes after billionaire Elon Musk a shared a fake video of Vice President Harris using AI to mimic her voice and spew insults about her campaign and President Biden — who dropped out of the 2024 race last month and subsequently endorsed the vice president.

It also follows a robocall earlier in the election cycle that used a fake voice resembling Biden that pushed voters to sit out the New Hampshire primary.

AI-generated political ads have also broken into the 2024 election. Last year, the Republican National Committee released an entirely AI-generated ad meant to show a dystopian future under a second Biden term. It employed fake but realistic photos showing boarded-up storefronts, armored military patrols in the streets and waves of immigrants creating panic.

Schumer said in the interview Thursday that the deepfake AI bills were supported by both sides of the aisle while in committee and called on Republicans to continue to support the effort.

“They had some bipartisan support in the committee, Sen. [Amy] Klobuchar did a good job getting through, and one of them just eliminates all AI in commercials and solicitations,” he told the outlet. “And the other at least has disclosures, so you know that AI is used.”

“These are American bills. We’re going to fight because democracy is at such risk. We’re going to fight to get these done in every way that we can. And we hope our Republican friends will relate, as I said that we do have some Republican support,” the Senate leader said. “This is not a Democratic or Republican issue. Democracy is at risk if these deepfakes are allowed to prevail.”

The Senate Rules Committee cleared a trio of bills earlier this year to target AI in elections, including the Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act and the AI Transparency in Elections Act.

The Protect Elections from Deceptive AI Act would ban using AI to create deceptive content that falsely depicts federal candidates in political ads to influence elections. The AI Transparency in Elections Act would require disclosures on ads that have content generated by AI.