Senators are pushing to introduce a bill as early as June that would set rules governing the use of artificial intelligence in the music and movie industries, an effort that coincides with new AI tensions roiling Hollywood.
Singers Ariana Grande and Lainey Wilson are among those who have already had their voices mimicked without their permission, while last year an anonymous artist put out a song called "Heart on my Sleeve" that falsely impersonated the voices of Drake and The Weeknd. A draft version of the bill would extend authorization for digital replication to the heirs, executors or assignees of a deceased person for a period of 70 years, which is modeled after the equivalent term for copyright protection.
Ben Sheffner, senior vice president of the Motion Picture Association, speaks during an April 30 hearing before a Senate subcommittee. Sheffner pointed to an example of the movie Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks. Filmmakers used digital-replica technology at the time to portray Gump's interactions with historical presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, and that didn’t require consent from heirs.
The House has its own bill underway to combat AI offenses in the entertainment industry called the No AI Fraud Act, which also aims to establish a federal framework to protecting one’s voice and likeness. In general, Schumer isn’t looking at trying to push through a full legislative AI package, but more likely looking to pass legislation by pieces. Some sorts of stand-alone legislation could get attached to other must pass legislation.
After taking the stage in a housedress and, at one point, swinging his cane like a baseball bat at a Massachusetts holiday weekend screening of Jaws, Richard Dreyfuss went on to deliver a rant described by attendees as transphobic, sexist and homophobic. “This was disgusting,” posted one attendee on the Facebook page of The Cabot …"How dare you tweet this, THIS weekend," former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger fired back at Donald Trump's son.