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An AI-generated voice that sounds like President Biden and tried to discourage voter participation last month is proof that artificial intelligence is a threat to public trust and can discourage voter participation, Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, a Santa Cruz Democrat, told CalMatters. That’s why she will soon propose a bill to ban “materially deceptive” election-related deepfakes 120 days before election day and 60 days after.
“We have to stay ahead of the deepfakes and bad actors that are out there trying to wreak chaos with our elections,” Pellerin said. It’s one of five bills getting introduced in the California Legislature this week designed to protect democratic discourse, voters, candidates, and election officials from deceptive content.